Crushing Moon
by Tenbatsu Saigetsu
Summary: The soul of the Shinigami is what determines his Zanpakutō. Ichigo's soul was special. Being the son of a Shinigami and a human, his soul was as much as that of a Shinigami as it was a Hollow's, yet it still remained pure. His soul was what determined Ichigo Kurosaki's future, a future far different from the one he may have had otherwise. - Heavily AU, IchiRuki.
1. Prologue

_Author's Notes_: I'm very glad to announce that I've been hit by a bit of inspiration recently and that I feel like writing again after taking such a huge leave. My deepest apologies to all those who are still following me after the _years_ of sparse activity.**  
**

This is the product of one of my random inspiration moments. I've had this sitting around for months in all actuality, but I've been afraid to post it because I'd just end up abandoning it. Now, I've plucked up my courage and here it is: Crushing Moon.

It's a heavily AU story, which you will see from the very beginning. Ichigo, for one, will not be acting exactly like the one in the canon, but will still be the Ichigo we know and love. There will be a multitude of changes to the original plot, all of which I hope will only serve to give you a new and exciting read.

I have another chapter lying in wait. It will be posted about a week or so after the prologue, after I get a feel of how well-liked the idea is.

Enough rambling from me. Enjoy the story!

* * *

**Prologue**

"You said she was killed. Your mother." Rukia said, trying to tread as carefully as she could. It would be an extremely sensitive subject to anyone, but add in Ichigo's overwhelming need to protect his family at all costs...

"I didn't say that." Ichigo replied in an even tone. He had told her she was only dead, after all.

"Who killed her?" She asked, ignoring his attempt at avoiding her.

"I didn't say that." This time, his tone was just a bit higher, and he spoke just a bit faster. She knew she was on the right track. "Forget about it."

"You said you could see spirits for as long as you remember." She pressed on. "Then, tell me one thing. Was the one who killed your mother a Hollow?"

His eyes widened considerably. Good, that meant that he didn't dismiss it.

"There is the possibility that if your spiritual energy was high enough for you to see spirits your whole life that a Hollow who was after you could have killed your mother by mistake."

"I can't take this!" Ichigo yelled. "Give me a break! According to you, every damn thing is the work of a Hollow!" He clenched the fabric of his jeans' pockets tightly, threatening to rip them. "It's already nothing to joke about, but then you start assuming that's the reason..."

He looked up and she could see something off in his eyes. Something that startled her.

"I've never heard more bullshit in my life!" He said, slowly walking past her. "Sorry, but your guess was wrong. It was no Hollow or anything. The one who killed my mother... was me."

He moved to shove past her, but he found his left arm in a death grip. His eyes snapped to her to see her looking at the ground, her hair shadowing her eyes.

Rukia recognized the look, recognized the words. How could she not? It was one she saw in the mirror for a very long time after _his_ death. It took her decades to get to grips with her emotions and to convince herself that his death was not her doing. Even longer to see a Hollow and not crush it with as much power as she could. She couldn't bear to see the same look on Ichigo's face.

"It's not your fault." She told him, not looking up. "I know what you feel right now. You think it was your fault that she died. It was not. You were little, Ichigo. Even now, when you're older and have my powers, some Hollows give you trouble. What could you have possibly done?"

"How the hell do you know how I feel!?" He demanded, an angry tear rolling down his cheek. "Who are you to patronize me? You don't even know what happened!"

Her head snapped up to meet his gaze with a glare. He almost jumped when he saw that she was fighting tears herself.

"Idiot! Do you think you are the only one who has ever lost someone!?" She asked in outrage, making him step back as she let go of his arm. "I lost someone very dear to me to a Hollow as well! I stood by while he fought a Hollow that possessed him! You watched your mother die, but I had to run my sword through one of my best friends!"

Ichigo stood rooted into place. He could never imagine Rukia living through hell like that. He never even imagined her as a soldier. Ichigo didn't think of Rukia as weak, no, never weak, but he could just not see her as a hardened warrior either. Even if he would drop dead rather than say it, she was too dear to him to think of her as any kind of true, world weary fighter. Hearing this though, changed that fact.

"I blamed myself for a very long time. More years than you are old even. But you know what, Ichigo?" She asked, looking calmer. "I stopped and asked myself 'What would he think of me if he knew I've changed so much because of it?'."

She paused, letting the point settle. "I returned to my life, not immediately, but I did. I returned to my friends. Don't beat yourself up over something you couldn't control. It will only bring you more pain. I know your mother wouldn't have wanted to see you like this."

Ichigo looked down and sighed. "You're right." He said softly, slowly accepting her words. "She wouldn't have wanted that."

A silence ensued, letting both of them calm themselves.

"Sorry for yelling at you." Ichigo said. "I guess I just lost it. Today always brings me down."

"It's alright, I know how it feels." She said softly. "There was another reason I brought it up."

He raised a brow. "What else?"

"The Hollow who did it." She started. Ichigo wanted to reprimand her, but the more he thought about the possibility of a Hollow killing his mother, the more it made sense to him. "Do not let what he did make you hate them all."

Ichigo's second brow shot up. Why was she telling him not to hate Hollows? He killed them, what difference does it make how he felt about them? They get purified either way.

"When we start our Shinigami training, they teach us that Hollows are mindless beasts that seek to sate a never ending hunger for souls and power." Rukia elaborated. "That is true, but only partially. New recruits are told that so that they wouldn't feel as if they were taking a life."

"Over time, I realized that Hollows are too individuals, just like Shinigami and humans. Don't look at me like that, idiot, you've seen it for yourself!" She reprimanded with a swift kick to Ichigo's shin. "Remember how the Hollow that attacked your family acted! Compare that to how Inoue's brother acted. They all have different reasons for their actions and all can make different choices. Inoue's brother decided to take his own life rather than risk being consumed by his hunger again. This is why I'm telling you. Don't hate Hollows. One day, you may stumble upon one that isn't as evil or mindless as the others."

"Geez, Rukia, you're growing soft on me." Ichigo remarked with a cocky smirk.

Rukia rolled her eyes, but she couldn't fight off a smile of her own. She moved closer and leaned her head into his chest, his arms wrapping around her as she melted into the warmth.

"You should be honored." She muttered, failing to make herself sound stern before her tone turned honest. "I've never cared for someone this much."

"I know, Rukia, I know." Ichigo said, pressing her tightly against him. He truly did know. Within a month and a half of knowing each other, he could safely say that Rukia knew him better than anyone else in his entire life, and he knew it worked both ways. It sounded impossible, or rather like a very cheesy romance novel, but he truly fell in love with her over their short time together and he simply _knew_ she felt the same way. They clicked in ways he couldn't even begin to describe and understood each other perfectly. It made teasing that much easier and all the more fun.

Rukia reluctantly drew herself away from him.

"I'll go and leave you to your family." She said and was about to start walking when a hand snaked around her shoulder.

"Don't be silly, Rukia." He told her as he directed them towards the cemetery. "I think it's about time to stop hiding."

Rukia looked up at him to see a serene smile on his face as his gaze met hers. She wrapped her arms around him and snuggled into his side as they walked.

"I love you, Ichigo."

"I love you too, Rukia."

* * *

His nails dug into the asphalt of the street on which he bled out, his tears mixing with the pouring rain. He could barely move. His chest felt like it was on fire. His heart was breaking apart.

"I..." He croaked, more tears rolling down his cheeks. "I got protected again..."

He couldn't bear it. His mother had given her life to save him from harm, from something that was _his_ fault, not hers. And it happened again. Rukia threw her life away just to give him a fighting chance of survival. Even if he did survive, he'd be nothing. Without Shinigami powers, he wouldn't be able to do a damn thing to save her.

"Rukia!" He screamed at the top of his lungs, ignoring the torturous pain in his chest and slamming his fist upon the wet ground. It exploded in a cloud of debris and water, leaving a small crater.

"Even when so close to death, you show such strength." A smooth baritone came.

Ichigo's head snapped up to look down the street. A man that looked to be in his thirties stood there, arms crossed and leaning against the rail, wearing a black hooded coat that flared in multiple coattails, held together by a trio of X marks on his chest. A mop of messy, shoulder length dark brown hair swayed in a nonexistent breeze along with the ends of his coat.

"W-who are you?" Ichigo rasped, his eyes wide. Ichigo was nothing if not calm, but looking into the man's eyes unnerved him. The unnatural black sclera with equally unnatural golden irises that seemed to glow in the dimly lit street were focused on him with a studious intensity, showing no hint of surprise at seeing that the drops of rain around them were perfectly still.

"I am someone who knows you very well, Ichigo." The man said. "I've watched you grow and mature ever since your birth, but my identity is of no concern for the moment."

He strode forward, the droplets of rain bursting silently as he walked into them. He crouched down, his gaze locked with Ichigo's.

"If you were given a chance to save Rukia, would you seize it no matter what?"

"Yes." Ichigo said instantly.

"Even if it turned you into a Hollow?" He asked with a raised brow.

The question hung in the air. What was the man implying? Who was he? Ichigo knew he was referring to some way of giving him power to save Rukia. Whoever he was, Ichigo knew he _could_ do it, but at what price? Becoming a Hollow?

"_Don't hate Hollows. One day, you may stumble upon one that isn't as evil or mindless as the others."_

The memory made him stop. He had taken Rukia's words to heart that day, both because it obviously meant a lot to her that he did and because he could find no fault to the logic.

That left Ichigo with a simple choice. Either he was to decline and at best survive to become a powerless human and let Rukia die; or he was to accept and risk his own sanity to save Rukia.

"It doesn't matter if I become a Hollow or Shinigami as long as it is enough to save her." Ichigo said, eyes narrow with determination.

"I am well aware that you would be able to live with yourself being a Hollow. That was never the question." The man dismissed. "What I am asking is whether you would be able to _accept_ it. Would you be able to proudly call yourself Hollow as much as you called yourself human or Shinigami?"

"It doesn't matter what I am!" Ichigo yelled, having enough of the man's plays. "I would be able to call myself a demon proudly if I have nothing to regret in my life! If you can give me a way to save her, then do it! If not, then I'll find a way myself!"

The man regarded him for a moment before breaking out in a smirk.

"I've been waiting for someone like you for a very long time." He said, rising to his feet. With a flick of his wrist, a massive sword formed in his hand. It had a black hilt with red wrappings, two silver rings at the ends and a short length of chain at its base. The black and white blade curved inwards at the backside of the tip similar to a trench knife while a short, sharp point protruded from the bottom of the blade, running parallel to the grip.

"Cast away your doubt, Ichigo. You are the maker of your own destiny. You wield the power to devastate the earth and demolish the heavens. It matters not _what_ you are, but _who_ you are. Take my blade and defend your friends. Take my mask and crush those who dare hurt them. My name is Saigetsu, and I am your power."

* * *

Urahara made his way down the rainy street, umbrella in one hand, cane in the other and a cat rolling its eyes at him on his shoulder.

"You could just shunpo down to him, Kisuke." The cat sighed.

"But where would the drama be if I did that?" He whined, turning his head to look at the cat as much as he could without knocking it off. The cat didn't bother dignifying that with a response as it spotted a shock of orange.

"There he is." It said.

What happened next made Urahara falter in his step. One moment Ichigo was facedown on the street, the next he was looking forward. A heavy reiatsu pressed down on the street as his hand sprang to his face and made a tearing motion downwards. A dark, malevolent aura washed over them, making their hairs stand on end.

Ichigo's eyes snapped to them behind the intricately striped mask, golden orbs flashing before he was enveloped in a tower of blue reiatsu.

"Kisuke, that reiatsu-"

"I know, Yoruichi." Urahara said, looking on with a curious gleam in his eyes. "It would seem Kurosaki-san has a trick up his sleeve that even we don't know about."

"_**SAIGETSU!"**_

The distorted cry was the only warning given as a wave of pure energy rocketed towards the pair, curving skyward at the last second, a powerful gust of wind whistling as it passed them. Urahara looked upwards, following the last traces of energy as they disappeared behind the rainclouds. A flash of light followed and the dark shroud split apart to reveal the night sky.

Urahara returned his gaze to the teen who was regarding him calmly with gold and black eyes behind his Hollow mask, a massive cleaver-like sword hanging limply over his shoulder.

"_**Geta-bōshi."**_

"Kurosaki-san." Urahara returned with a tilt of his hat. "What a nice detail you've gotten your-"

"_**Cut the crap, Urahara."**_ Ichigo said flatly. **_"I need training."_**

Urahara sighed. He knew there was no arguing with the boy when he got like this. He still remembered the beating he got after Ichigo slayed the Gillian a week ago for not helping him and endangering his girlfriend in the process. Then again, he _was_ curious as to how the teen had unlocked all his powers without any stimuli.

"I will have everything prepared in the morning for you." Urahara said, turning on his heel and walking away. "Rest and try to hide your Hollow side, Kurosaki-san! It won't do us any good for Soul Society to finish you off before you even begin your journey!"

Ichigo watched as the man nonchalantly strolled away, not in the least bit fazed at seeing him rise from a fatal injury and with a power Ichigo was quite sure was _not_ normal. With a sigh and a flick of his wrist, the mask turned into black and red reiatsu which he absorbed.

"_You there, Saigetsu?"_

"_Always."_ The Zanpakutō spirit's voice came from his mind. _"You are my wielder now and I am your partner in combat. I will make sure that you always have the power to protect your loved ones and crush those who dare endanger them. I will explain everything in length once you return home."_

Ichigo gave a nod, not quite sure if the Zanpakutō caught it, and jumped onto the nearest rooftop.

* * *

Ichigo collapsed on his bed, back in his body. He felt different though. He still felt all the power he had in his spiritual form, unlike before where there was a distinct difference when he was and wasn't in his body. He decided to ponder on it later, he had far more pressing things to do.

"_Alright, talk."_

"_It would be better to talk in person."_ Saigetsu replied. _"Close your eyes."_

Ichigo did as he was asked. He felt a sudden dropping sensation in his stomach, making him jump. What awaited him was far different than his room. He found himself sitting in an enormous, green plain. At least a few kilometers away was a forest and behind it stretched an enormous mountain range, tinted by a light, bluish mist.

"Quite a calming inner world." Saigetsu remarked behind him.

"Inner world?" Ichigo asked, rising to his feet.

"This is your mind. A representation of who you are." Saigetsu elaborated, making a sweeping gesture. "From what I've heard of inner worlds, especially from Engetsu, this one is quite... normal. Most people aren't nearly as in peace with themselves as you are."

"Thanks. I guess." Ichigo said, scratching the back of his head.

"I know you have questions, go ahead."

"You're not a normal Zanpakutō, are you?" Ichigo more stated than asked.

"Indeed I am not." Saigetsu said. "A Zanpakutō is normally the soul's representation of Shinigami powers. However, in a soul, there are two representations of power. One is the Zanpakutō, and the other is an Inner Hollow. Every soul that has Shinigami powers has dormant Hollow powers and vice versa."

"But why doesn't every Shinigami use Hollow powers if they have them?" Ichigo interjected.

"Because they do not know about them, and even if they did know, it would take immense effort to just awaken one's Hollow, much less make it work with them." Saigetsu explained. "The trickiest part is that a Zanpakutō and Inner Hollow are two sides of the same coin. Depending on the wielder's state, one is always dominant. It takes supreme control and self-acceptance for a soul to be able to have both existing equally."

"When I found out that each Zanpakutō had its own Hollow counterpart, I did something no other Zanpakutō ever even thought of doing. I sought it out within myself and became one with it."

"And that makes you my Zanpakutō_ and_ Inner Hollow." Ichigo surmised.

"Exactly." Saigetsu confirmed. "No Zanpakutō other than me has ever pulled this off. Even if they did, I doubt they'd fare as good as I have."

"What do you mean?"

"In retrospect, what I did was incredibly stupid and quite possibly fatal. I changed my soul from the core and was very lucky to have merged successfully." Saigetsu said with a faraway look in his eyes. "And the problem doesn't end with the merging. The society of Zanpakutō is incredibly stiff. In our world, what I did was beyond controversial. In fact, if not for my standing and influence, I would have been cast out as a rogue Zanpakutō."

"Standing and influence?" Ichigo asked, frowning in confusion.

"Oh, sorry, I haven't told you just who I am, have I?" Saigetsu said sheepishly. "You see, in our world, a Zanpakutō's respect is everything. It is earned through power, through age and through accomplishment. With greater respect comes greater leeway to do things you are technically not supposed to do, like help your wielder in combat in ways other than just lending your power. Care to guess what my position is?"

"If you're gloating about it, it must be really high." Ichigo remarked, suppressing an urge to roll his eyes at the proud gleam in his Zanpakutō's eyes.

"I am one of the top dogs." Saigetsu said, his demeanor changing to one of seriousness. "I am Saigetsu, the oldest and most powerful lunar Zanpakutō in existence."

Ichigo's eyes widened. Oldest and most powerful? He had sensed that there was a lot to his Zanpakutō spirit, but _most powerful_?

"I won't lie, it is considered a great honor to be chosen by the most powerful Zanpakutō of any element. Coupled with the fact that I am very influential even in that circle and infamous for my Hollow powers, I can say that finding out that you are my first wielder ever will ring more bells than the fact that you are a Hollow hybrid. The moment they find out you're my wielder, you'll become their main target."

Ichigo's fist clenched as he looked down, the memory of Byakuya piercing his chest fresh in his mind. A strong wind picked up around the two, stopping only when Saigetsu put a hand on the teen's shoulder.

"That is why you are here now." Saigetsu said, looking Ichigo in the eye. "I will help you get her back in any way I can. I am very picky with my wielders. I have searched for the right person for millennia and now that I've finally found a person worthy, I will give you my all."

He took a few steps back, gesturing towards the world around them. "Time can flow differently here than in the world outside. The power of the Zanpakutō is the only thing that sets the limit with how much time can be slowed and for how long. Fortunately for you..." Saigetsu grinned. "I've got power in spades."

"All training done within your mind will reflect on your body and soul without taking any toll so that you can continue your training in the outside world once you wake up." Saigetsu said, the familiar sword appearing in his grip. "Prepare, Ichigo! As of today, you will be subjected to hell and torment until you are ready to crush your enemies with the might of a falling sky!"

* * *

Saigetsu - 砕月 - Crushing Moon


	2. Chapter 1

_Author's Notes_: I must say that I'm very pleased with the feedback I've been getting this past week. This chapter was supposed to come out tomorrow, but I figured I might as well post it now.**  
**

I know I've left you with a lot of questions with the prologue, but rest assured that the answers for everything will come slowly as the story unfolds. I'm revealing things gradually as I go so that the fic doesn't end up as a huge mess of explanations.

This chapter and most likely the next won't have a lot of action in them. They are mostly there to set up the base for the new plot and for character development.

Well, that's it from me. Enjoy the story! The following is a review response to Sakura-bell who reviewed anonymously.

_Sakura-bell_: Thank you so much for the great review! It really made my day when I read it. Saigetsu's similarities to Zangetsu are intentional, however he is not a merged version of Zangetsu and Hichigo. Sadly, Hichigo doesn't exist in this fic. Saigetsu is the only avatar of power in Ichigo's soul. And yes, he will have all the abilities that entails and more. It is my plan to make Ichigo one of the most memorable badasses in this fic. Not overly powerful until the time comes, but he will most definitely be stronger than the original by quite a margin from the very beginning. Hope you enjoy this chapter!

* * *

**Chapter 1**

_**Prepare! The Invading Army Approaches!**_

"Getsuga..."

"_**Tenshō!"**_

The two azure waves met halfway, raging and roaring against one another for dominance. The two fighters pushed forward, the waves rising as they did. Ichigo's Hollow mask opened its maw to let out a hollowfied roar. As if in response, a pair of red eyes appeared in his Getsuga Tenshō, followed quickly by a full Hollow mask that opened its mouth, devoured the other attack and continued on its way.

Saigetsu nonchalantly raised his hand. An orb of crimson quickly charged before releasing a Cero that obliterated the Getsuga and continued towards Ichigo. In turn, the Cero was split in two with a laid back swing of Ichigo's sword.

Urahara watched as the two continued demolishing the training ground he himself had built, with quite the amount of amazement. Ichigo had trained literally without stop for over seventeen days. At least, it was seventeen days to _him_. For Ichigo, it was probably closer to forty two, with the time dilution in his inner world. Even though no fatigue carried over into the outer world and no reiatsu was expended, it was a remarkable feat indeed. The progress alone was staggering...

"Yo, Kisuke!" Shinji called from where he sat on one of the boulders.

"Hello there, Shinji, Hiyori-san!" The scientist waved as he moved from the entrance. The diminutive blonde huffed and turned her head away.

"Ignore her." Shinji said, dropping down beside his fellow exile. "She's been like that ever since Ichigo beat her with her mask on with just his Shi-"

A sandal drove his face into the ground before he could finish the sentence.

"He did not beat me!" Hiyori screamed.

"Oh, here we go again." Love said, flipping over another page of his Jump. The rest of the Vizard groaned in response.

"He cheated!" She ranted on. "I have no idea how, but he cheated! No stupid kid can beat me with just ten days of training! You hear that, Shinji!"

"Just admit defeat, Hiyori." Lisa sighed. "He beat you fair and square. It's not like you're the only one he's beaten."

Urahara chuckled as Hiyori started arguing with Lisa. Once he had learned the name of Ichigo's Zanpakutō and Benihime had explained just who he was, Urahara immediately made a phone call and set out for the Vizard warehouse. Saigetsu's appearance had made a change in his plans, and not necessarily for the worse, if the amount of pure power and potential Ichigo was showing said anything.

The Vizard were quite surprised when Urahara notified them he was bringing them one of their kin for training and tutoring. It hadn't taken long for Ichigo's story to be revealed, and even less for him to grow onto the ragtag group of exiles. In the span of days, the newly expanded group functioned seamlessly.

"Urahara-san." Ichigo greeted, Saigetsu shouldered. "Is the Senkaimon ready?"

Urahara nodded and Ichigo instantly put Saigetsu on his back, bandages snaking their way around the blade as Ichigo's reiatsu stuck it to his back.

"Kisuke," Shinji spoke, getting the blond's attention. "Let me go with him."

"_What_?" Asked a stunned Hiyori, as all eyes turned to him.

"He is one man against thirteen." Shinji said, looking at Urahara. "Even if Yoruichi goes, it will not be enough. He needs all the help he can get."

Urahara remained silent. Yoruichi had opted to give Ichigo's friends a chance to go with him, but that had turned out to be a dead end. Their power had risen incredibly over the short period of time, but it simply wasn't enough. Once they entered Soul Society, it would be an unending manhunt, and he had far better things to do than to be responsible for the deaths of two young humans.

The Quincy had been a surprise. Urahara was certain he would use the Sanrei glove, but instead he had gone to his father and demanded training from him. He still had no idea how Uryū had done it - and Ryūken refused to tell him what happened - but the boy had returned immensely stronger than he was that night.

That left Ichigo with a company of two. Uryū and Yoruichi.

"If Shinji's going, I'm coming too." Love said, snapping his Jump shut and rising to his feet.

"The kid will die if he goes alone." Kensei said, crossing his arms.

"If Kensei's going, I'm going too!" Mashiro chirped happily.

"Idiot, I didn't say I was going!" Kensei yelled.

"But you are going to go because you like Berry-tan too!"

"Shut up!"

Rose, Lisa and Hachigen stepped forward as well, also willing to come. Hiyori growled under her breath and stepped forward too, crossing her arms and glaring at the Strawberry.

Urahara looked down at his cane, his eyes seeing the sword that lay underneath. It hummed gently, sending a pleasant sensation up his arm. He looked up, the corner of his lip twitching.

"Yare, yare..." He said as he smiled his trademark smug smile at the group assembled. "It'll be good to see Soul Society again."

* * *

Ichigo looked the group down and up again, barely believing his luck. He let out a small chuckle as his eyes passed over Ishida, earning him another icy glare. The face Ishida made when he saw the ten Shinigami turn the corner was truly priceless.

"You all know the procedure. Run to the other side before it closes." Urahara said, standing next to Yoruichi, who had reluctantly given up on her chance to reveal herself in her favorite fashion to the two teens that were the original rescue team.

"Tessai and myself made the modifications that allow us to bypass Soul Society's block and let the Senkaimon run by itself." Urahara pushed his hat up, looking at everybody with a stern look. "If you run into Aizen, do _not_ engage him. Everybody here save for Ichigo and Ishida-san has seen Kyōka Suigetsu's release. If you two run into Aizen, keep your eyes closed. Fight with reiatsu sense alone."

"Get in, get Rukia and the Hōgyoku, get out." Ichigo said, his insides screaming at Urahara to open the damn gate already. He had already been told all about what was happening by Urahara and the Vizard. He truly couldn't blame the man for what he did when he had noble intentions in mind, but the forgiveness was not his to give, as he had told the blond genius.

"Right you are, Ichigo." Urahara said, tipping his hat back into place. "Open the Senkaimon, Tessai!"

"Hai!" The muscular man said, pressing his hands into a seal etched into the ground. A rectangular rock gate appeared, a blue vortex beyond it. Urahara pressed a hand into the swirling mass and it went through.

"Let's go!" Urahara ordered and dashed into the Senkaimon.

* * *

"I've got you some proper food." Renji said as he entered Rukia's cell in the Senzaikyū, carrying a full platter. Rukia was sitting on the other side of the room, gazing out of the only window, lost in her thoughts.

Renji sighed as he set aside the food and went to sit next to her, wrapping her in a hug.

"I'm sorry I acted like that, Rukes." He apologized, giving her a squeeze. "I was out of my mind when I heard that I had to bring you in. I thought that some bastard managed to steal your powers and make it look like you were to blame. Please, Rukia..."

"I loved him, Renji." Rukia whispered, leaning into her best friend. "He's dead because of me."

"I doubt he's dead. After all, Urahara wouldn't let him just die like that." Renji replied, almost collapsing with relief when his oldest friend finally spoke to him. She had remained silent for days, barely eating and looking worse than when Kaien died. It killed him to see her like that every time he visited. He was glad that she was at least talking to him now.

"Even so, he's powerless." Rukia said, swallowing a lump in her throat. "When I first gave him my powers, I thought he'd try to get away from the duties he had to do instead of me. You should have seen him when he was fighting Hollows. It was like he had found a purpose in life. I knew that he was born to be a Shinigami, then. But now, even when he does die, he will only be a villager in the Rukongai. All because of me."

"Stop talking nonsense." Renji told her, giving her a firm look. "I've heard you at the trial; he would be dead if you didn't give him powers. And you said it yourself, he loved it. He wouldn't have that if it weren't for you. What Byakuya did wasn't your fault."

Rukia looked up at him, her eyes glowing with unshed tears. Without warning, she buried her face into his chest, sobs wracking her frame as she finally let go of weeks of agony. Renji simply held her, rubbing her back with a faraway look in his eyes.

"_Don't worry, Rukes. Just a little more and I'll get my Bankai. I'll get you out of this hellhole."_

* * *

"That was very inartful." Rose remarked as he rose to dust himself off.

"If you had a more _artistic_ way of escaping the Cleaner, why didn't you say so back there?" Love asked as he adjusted his shades.

"I'd say that explosion was an art unto itself." Urahara noted as he turned to Ichigo. "I must say, I've never seen a Hadō fired in a worse setting for the use of Kidō before."

"Hey, how the hell was I supposed to know the Dangai reacted badly to Kidō!?" Ichigo snapped.

"You just couldn't run like the rest of us, could you, dumbass?" Hiyori growled.

"Guys," Yoruichi called. "We're past that now, we've made it into the Rukongai. If you don't remember, the clock is ticking. We need to get inside before a patrol can identify us, otherwise the whole Seireitei will be ready for us."

"Right you are, Yoruichi-san!" Urahara quipped as he snapped open his fan and led the way straight towards the Shinigami hub. Yoruichi rolled her eyes and followed with the rest of the group.

Just as expected, a segmented wall fell from the sky only a few dozen meters from them, blocking their path and kicking up a cloud of dust.

"It's been a long time since someone has tried to come through the Gate of Pure Souls without a pass." A towering shadow spoke as the dust began to clear. "Now, who dares- What?"

"Long time no see, Jidanbō!" Yoruichi waved with a grin at the gentle giant as she stepped forward.

"Yoruichi-dono!" The gate guardian exclaimed. "It's been so long since we've last met!"

"She knows this guy?" Ishida whispered discreetly to Urahara.

"Yoruichi and Jidanbō go way back." Urahara confirmed. "Yoruichi and her best friend, Kukaku, used to sneak in and out through Jidanbō's gate even in their academy days."

"Indeed it has, Jidanbō." Yoruichi nodded. "I'd love to catch up, but we're in a hurry. Could you please open the gate for us?"

Jidanbō pressed his lips into a thin line as he scanned the group. "The Sōtaicho won't be happy..."

"We'll say we beat you and you were honor-bound to open it for us." Yoruichi pressed on, giving him a pleading look. "They can't blame you for losing to so many former Captains at once. Come on, Jidanbō, for old times' sake!"

"You always win these." Jidanbō sighed in resignation. "Fine, step back."

"You're the best!" Yoruichi beamed.

"It's kinda scary to see _her_ acting innocent." Shinji muttered as the giant grasped the edge of the gate and started lifting it.

"I heard that." Yoruichi threw over her shoulder.

With a final heave, Jidanbō pushed the gate above his head and held it there.

"You better go in now before somebody sees you." He advised. "A squad should be here any second now to see what's happening."

"Alright." Yoruichi nodded. "Thanks, Jidanbō. I'll be sure to come and visit!"

With that, the group vanished as one in a flit of Shunpo.

* * *

"Silence!" The Sōtaicho boomed, his cane coming down hard against the wooden floor. "This emergency Captains meeting is called to session. Hitsugaya-taicho, please step forward and make your report."

The young prodigy stepped forward, taking a deep breath. He should have let Gin's squad investigate the matter...

"My squad arrived to find the West Gate held open by Jidanbō. He said that he was beaten by the invading group and bound by his honor as a gate guardian to open the gate once defeated." Tōshirō relayed.

"A gate keeper's duty ain't to open gates for foes." Gin interjected. "If he got beaten, he shoulda died."

"Order!" Yamamoto commanded. "Jidanbō's actions shall be discussed later. Continue."

"With all due respect, I personally believe Jidanbō should not be punished for his actions, seeing the identities of the ones to enter Seireitei." Hitsugaya said, preparing himself for the hard part. "Soul Society has been invaded by a group led by Kisuke Urahara and Yoruichi Shihōin consisting-"

"Urahara?" Mayuri asked with raised brows, his lip curling upwards.

"_Her_?" Soifon seethed, eyes blazing with rage.

"Silence!" Yamamoto yelled, slamming his cane against the ground multiple times before the meeting got out of hand. "Who else is in this group?"

"According to Jidanbō, accompanying the two are Tessai Tsukabishi, Shinji Hirako, Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi, Love Aikawa, Kensei Muguruma, Hachigen Ushōda, Lisa Yadōmaru, Hiyori Sarugaki, Mashiro Kuna, along with two others he did not recognize. The first appears to be a black haired Quincy, dressed in a white uniform of sorts. The second is a Shinigami with bright orange hair and a Zanpakutō as long as he is tall."

"Impossible." Byakuya said, his eyes widening imperceptibly.

"Is something the matter, Captain Kuchiki?" The Sōtaicho asked.

"The description of the unidentified Shinigami matches the one of the human Rukia's powers were given to." The head of the Kuchiki clan replied. "I have personally executed a Senka. There is no mistake that I obliterated his Saketsu and Hakusui. He should have at best survived to live on as a powerless human."

"Unless he had spiritual powers of his own." Mayuri explained. "In that case, destroying his focuses of power would only rid him of the ones he got from Kuchiki. Urahara must have put him in either a gigai or his own body to let the wounds heal before forcing his Zanpakutō to reveal itself."

"In that case, we know at least one of their objectives." Aizen spoke. "To rescue Rukia Kuchiki."

"Kuchiki is currently being held in the Senzaikyū." Yamamoto informed. "We can expect that at least some of the intruders will go there."

Kenpachi grinned. "Then I'll be there waiting for them. It's been a while since I got to fight someone strong."

"If nobody has anything more to add, the following orders are issued, effective immediately." Yamamoto declared. "Considering the intruders' strength, they are only to be approached by a Taicho or multiple Fukutaicho with a numerical advantage. Any Shinigami below the level of Fukutaicho is to retreat on sight and report to the closest Captain. You are to brief all of your subordinates immediately and prepare your Divisions for an attack. All further orders will be sent with Jigokuchō as we cannot afford to leave any area without a Captain to guard it. This meeting is adjourned."

* * *

"We should be safe here long enough to make a plan." Urahara announced as he closed the door to the old storage house. "It would be best if we split into groups to keep everyone busy while Ichigo goes to save Rukia."

"I am going to the Research and Development Division." Uryū said, his eyes narrowed. "Mayuri Kurotsuchi will pay for the atrocities he has committed."

"Then it will be best if I were to go with you." Urahara replied. "As the founder of the Division, I know it better than anyone, even Mayuri. It would be wise to get all the information they have stored there and place some safeguards, in case the Gotei 13 still considers us enemies once Aizen is exposed."

"I will go to my old Division." Kensei spoke. "I will confront Tōsen and stir up as much trouble as I can."

"I'll go too!" Mashiro chirped.

"I have some unfinished business with Kyōraku." Lisa said, crossing her arms. "I should be able to convince him to join us, but I must go alone."

"I don't think my little Bee would be too happy to see me, but I think I can make her come around." Yoruichi added.

"In that case, I'll go and make a hit on the Tenth." Shinji said, shouldering Sakanade.

"Seventh." Love simply said.

"The Eleventh Division always lacked the appreciation for art." Rose lamented.

"Hachigen and I shall go and see Ukitake-dono." Tessai announced. "I doubt he has taken the imprisonment of his subordinate well. We should be able to convince him to join us."

"Well, since that leaves only Hiyori, I guess you're pairing up with Ichigo." Shinji grinned.

"What!?" Hiyori shouted in disbelief. "Why do _I_ have to go with _him_!?"

"You're the only one who hasn't said where you want to go, and if you haven't noticed, you had plenty of opportunities to join anyone." Urahara said. "Besides, Ichigo could use at least one companion."

Hiyori was shaking with anger. No way was she going with the asshole! She almost lashed out with a kick to the former Taicho's crotch, but thought better of it. She still remembered what happened last time she did that. Instead, she turned to her fated companion and lashed out at him.

_Crack_.

Ichigo grinned as Hiyori bit her lip, tears threatening to escape her.

"You should know better than to attack a student of mine, Hiyori-san." Urahara singsonged.

"I..." She rasped, her aching foot still between the Visored's legs. "I will skin you both alive when we get back."

* * *

He ran breathlessly across the bridge to the looming tower. He ignored the bewildered guards stationed at the door, barely slowing himself enough not to barrel into it. He flashed his badge to the guard and slammed the door open, panting.

"Renji!" Rukia shouted, startled by the sudden appearance. "Renji, what are you doing here? What's wrong?"

"Your-" Renji gasped, holding onto the door as he tried to slow his breathing. He took a few moments before straightening and closing the door. "Your boyfriend is alive."

"Ichigo?" Rukia asked, trying with all her might to suppress the wave of hope she felt. "Are you sure it's Ichigo?"

"Orange hair, Zanpakutō as long as he's tall." Renji said with a nod as he walked over. "Also, he's absolutely insane."

"What do you mean?" Rukia asked with dread as Renji sat beside her.

"He also brought that Quincy that fought me." Renji added.

"Ishida!" Rukia exclaimed, a smile on her face. Ichigo and Ishida were here! Oh no... Ichigo and Ishida were here...

"Oh no, they have no idea what they're doing..." She whispered in horror.

Renji laughed, making Rukia's head snap to him. Renji took another minute to calm his breathing again. Why did the Senzaikyū have to be placed on the other side of Seireitei from the Sixth Division?

"Oh, they seem to have every bit of the idea." Renji said. "We've all been briefed by Byakuya. Soul Society is on red alert. Those two brought friends. A lot of friends."

"Friends?" Rukia repeated, confused.

"Rukia, your boyfriend brought seven former Taicho and four ex-Fukutaicho with him, including Urahara." Renji revealed.

Rukia's mouth was wide open, staring with disbelieving eyes.

"Oh, if not only that, but one of them is the Goddess of Flash herself and another is the former Taicho of the Kidō Corps." Renji elaborated. "The rest are suspected to have Hollow powers."

"That idiot's waging a war because of me..." Rukia whispered.

"Seireitei's never seen an invasion like this." Renji noted absently as he stood up. "Just thought you might want to know."

"Where are you going?" Rukia asked as she got to her feet.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm going to wait for the sucker." Renji said with a grin. "Then I'm going to join him."

She looked at him with wide eyes. "But... But Renji, that's equal to treason!"

"So what?" Renji dismissed casually with a wave. "I've had you long before I had the Gotei 13. It's not really a hard choice."

"Renji..." Rukia trailed off, lacking words. Sighing, she gave her best friend a wan smile. "Tell Ichigo I love him."

Renji rolled his eyes with a smirk. "You're going to tell him yourself soon, dumbass."

With that, Renji left a much better looking Rukia in her cell, goal clear in mind. He ran towards the Sōkyoku hill, his fingers brushing Zabimaru's hilt.

"_We're finishing this today, Zabimaru."_ Renji told his Zanpakutō. _"We'll help that idiot rescue Rukia."_

* * *

_Additional Author's Notes_: I want to add two things. One is that no, Chad and Orihime will not be written off so easily. The second is that from now on, all new terms, such as Saigetu's Bankai and the like will be written down here with their kanji and translation as Saigetu's name was written in the prologue.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Stay tuned for Chapter 3!


	3. Chapter 2

_Author's Notes:_ Another wonderful round of reviews! I thank all of those who have reviewed or put the story in their alerts or favorites. It really makes me feel good to see the story is appreciated and gives me a good motivational boost too.

I realized a few days ago what an idiot I was. I got myself a beta reader the day I posted the prologue. Her name is _**Aletheya**_. She's been a big help and her only price is that she gets to read the chapters early, so I'm satisfied. She also left a message for all the readers in a review of Chapter 1, however, I don't want to put it here so that I don't scare people off. She's like that.

That's that. Enjoy the story! The following are responses to anonymous reviews:

_Sakura-bell_: I'm glad you liked the chapter! Your reviews seem to always reduce me to the level of an excitable squirrel. I won't reveal anything about the battles, they're starting in the next chapter, so it'll only be a week until you see the fights for yourself. If you thought the last chapter was any good, I know there's a scene you'll like very much here. Enough from me, enjoy!

_Dark Kyuubi_: Thanks for the kind words. I like to keep my grammar and spelling up to level. I'm a bit of a grammar nazi, so I'm really horrified when I see the atrocities some writers have committed. And since a quality plot is what I'm aiming for, I'm glad you think it's presented in a good way. Thanks again for the review and enjoy the story!

* * *

**Chapter 2**

_**Rise! The Will to Protect!**_

"El Directo!"

Chad's transformed arm sailed forward, a large blast of reiatsu bursting forth. The attack plowed through the cracked concrete with ease, zeroing in on its target.

There was an explosion, followed by a screen of smoke, and then silence. As the smoke slowly started clearing, he felt a pang of worry in his chest. Had he put too much force into that last attack? Did he attack too fast for her to defend herself? Was-

The quiet _whoosh_ of air was all the warning he got before he was forced to jump back, narrowly avoiding being bisected by Tsubaki from head to groin. The fairy didn't make an effort to follow as it turned back and glided over to its master.

The smoke finally dissipated to reveal Orihime standing calmly, letting her Santen Kesshun and Koten Zanshun dispel and return to her hairpins.

"I told you not to hold back, Sado-kun." She reprimanded softly, but firmly. "We will never grow stronger if we don't push ourselves past our limits."

This was the eighteenth day that the two had trained together. Ever since they had learned about Rukia's capture and Ichigo's mission to rescue her, they had been training for as long as their bodies and reiryoku reserves could possibly take and beyond.

Even then, it wasn't enough.

* * *

_The destructive wave of reiatsu charged relentlessly towards the redhead, taking up most of her field of vision even from such distance. It was by far the most powerful attack Chad had produced yet._

_The moment she saw it, Orihime knew that her shield wouldn't hold against such a fierce attack. She needed something stronger, and fast. She needed something that could take the hit, but she knew that it wouldn't be enough. She couldn't simply block forever. No, she needed to strike back as well._

"_Hinagiku, Lily, Baigon, Tsubaki!" She called out, the reiatsu blast seconds from impacting._

"_Hai!" The fairies responded and promptly took formation in front of her. A golden, pyramidical barrier formed in front of her._

"_Shiten Kōshun, I reject!"_

_Chad's attack impacted the barrier with a mighty crash. The beam of reiatsu struggled to push past the barrier for a few moments._

_And then it vanished._

_Before her opponent could ask what happened, the three points at the base of the shield formed by Baigon, Lily and Hinagiku started glowing with potent energy before sending all of it to the tip where Tsubaki waited._

_Chad's eyes widened in silent surprise as he found himself standing in front of a rapidly approaching wave of golden reiatsu the size of the blast he had thrown seconds ago._

_Finding himself trapped in the same manner Orihime had been just a moment earlier, he had no choice but to put his transformed right arm in front him and brace himself for the impact._

_The attack hit him full on, making him skid back a few feet before he reasserted his footing, the blast still trying to plow through him. He could feel his arm weakening and the armor around it slowly melting under the intense heat. Making that attack had already taken a lot out of him, so even his own inhuman strength was fading._

_But he had to press on. He _had_ to. He made a promise to Ichigo that he would always be there to watch his back, no matter what happe__ned. It was a vow he would die to keep. Chad was nothing if not a man who was true to his word, and even truer to his friends._

_With the thought burning strongly in his mind, Chad pushed every last bit of reiryoku he had into his arm, willing himself to stand his ground and fight back. Just as his armor was about to completely melt off, he made one last push of spiritual power towards his arm._

_And then he felt it._

_Instead of melting off, the substance on his arm started rearranging itself. He could feel his arm grow heavier as the coating around it thickened significantly. He felt stronger. Much stronger._

_With his renewed strength, Chad repositioned his feet and started pushing the massive wave back before, with a great heave, he swatted it aside into the thick concrete wall, utterly obliterating it._

"_A good thing we're in an out-of-the-way part of town, otherwise that would have brought us some unwanted attention." A masculine voice echoed through the abandoned factory building in which the two spiritually aware humans had been training for the past two and a half weeks._

_The two exhausted teens turned to the black cat that was sitting calmly on a nearby crate, watching the spectacle in front of it with a critical air about it, if such a thing were possible for a cat._

"_I see both of your powers have evolved."_

_Chad looked down at his right arm and flexed it experimentally. The fin-like extensions on his forearm were gone and the ones on his shoulder had grown longer and merged together. The markings had changed as well, growing more intricate and losing the white outlines they once had._

_It felt even better than his previous arm. He was much more powerful now, he knew it._

"_Yoruichi-san," He spoke, his anticipation building up. "You've said that Ichigo would be training for seventeen days before he would leave. That day is tomorrow, yet you haven't told us anything about when we are leaving or where we are meeting."_

"_That is because you are not going."_

"_What!?" Both shouted in outrage._

_Yoruichi released her hold on her spiritual pressure and let it weigh down upon them. The two teens froze up instantly, barely breathing and sweating in terror._

"_Where Ichigo is going, there will be absolutely no room for anyone but the strongest." Yoruichi explained with narrowed eyes. "This is the power held by those Ichigo will be facing, and I still have more than this. I could kill you just by exposing you to the full brunt of my reiatsu. And even then, there are people there who are stronger than I am."_

_The revelation hit both teens hard. Were they really this weak? Was all their hard work for nothing, even when they had managed to push themselves so far in their training?_

_Yoruichi noticed the looks in their eyes, her long years as a trained assassin allowing her to see right through them, and decided to come clean._

"_No, you are by no means weak." She said, drawing in her reiatsu. "In fact, if some things were different, you would have been ready over a week ago. You have surpassed even my wildest hopes with what you have done."_

"_But you've just shown us that we are." Orihime spoke in a rather detached manner, something that was very unlike the exuberant redhead. "We can't even breathe unless you hold yourself back."_

_Yoruichi looked sadly at her. She hated herself for crushing the two like this._

"_You should know that amongst the thousands of Shinigami in Soul Society, only thirteen wield as much power as this." Yoruichi smirked inwardly at their shocked faces. "In fact, there are only another thirteen that would have been able to take this much power without dropping dead."_

"_However," She added seriously. "The thirteen Taicho will be Ichigo's only true enemies and once they hear what kind of power he wields, some will stop at nothing to make him surrender himself to them, even if it meant using you against him."_

_She raised her paw at Chad, knowing the retort that was a split-second from leaving his tongue._

"_I know you would give your life for Ichigo's, Sado, however, you know Ichigo would never allow that to happen. Sending you into Soul Society now would mean sending you to your deaths and I cannot in good conscience allow that._

"_I won't deny your hard work. From what I've seen, you would be able take on any of the Fukutaicho by yourselves. Together, you would probably be able to defeat any of them with ease. However, if Ichigo were pitted against all the Fukutaicho at once, it would take him seconds to take care of them all."_

"_Has he really grown so strong?" Chad asked, not truly surprised, but awed._

_The cat snorted to itself in amusement. "You should see him. He's training like a maniac. Already topped some of his mentors too."_

_Orihime smiled sadly. "He's doing it because of Kuchiki-san."_

_Yoruichi hopped down and shook her head in mock exasperation. "Young people and love these days..."_

"_So, this is it." Orihime more stated than asked._

"_No," Yoruichi corrected. "It's not _it_. Just because you can't help Ichigo by going with him doesn't mean that you cannot help him in other ways. Someone has to protect Karaku__ra from Hollows while he's gone and his family is the number one source of reiatsu in the area. I'm sure that he'd appreciate you keeping his family and friends safe more than actually going with him after Kuchiki."_

_Chad nodded in resignation. He knew tha__t the feline had a point. If he could not be there to watch Ichigo's back, then he would remain here and keep watch over his loved ones when his friend could not._

"_I better get going, I should be getting ready for tomorrow." Yoruichi announced as she started padding away. Before she disappeared however, she threw over her shoulder. "And don't let this drag you down. You've done me proud these past two weeks. Be proud of yourselves and stay strong! Who knows what kind of trouble might turn up next."_

* * *

After Yoruichi had left, the two immediately agreed upon continuing their training regime. Yoruichi's words were still loud in their ears. They were powerful, but there were still beings out there that wouldn't so much as need to exert themselves to defeat them. It was up to them to defend Karakura until Ichigo was back with Rukia. However, none of this was the true reason either wanted to continue growing strong.

For Chad, it was his word to Ichigo. Of course, Yoruichi had made a very valid point and he agreed with it, but the fact remained that he was not strong enough to follow Ichigo when he was needed. It was something the gentle giant would not take lightly. He knew that Ichigo wouldn't take it against him, but Chad wouldn't be able to live with himself if he ever let Ichigo down when the orange haired teen needed him. That was why Chad swore that by the time Ichigo came back, he would be powerful enough to fight at his side once more.

While it was not an easy pill to swallow for Chad, Orihime had it worse by far.

Even though Rukia had tried using a memory modifier on her, Orihime's reiatsu was too high for the device to work. She remembered the night her deceased brother attacked her and his later redemption perfectly. She even remembered the odd sensation of leaving her body when her brother nearly killed her human body with a swipe of his claw.

Then later came the matter of Ichigo and Rukia. Orihime had a very long and intense crush on Ichigo from the moment she met him. So lost was she in her attraction that she couldn't even summon the courage to ask the boy out. In fact, she had never even considered that if she didn't, somebody else might. After all, Ichigo had a reputation for having the sexual awareness of a rock.

But then, it happened. Ichigo and Rukia walked into the classroom hand in hand a few weeks before the end of term, completely unaware of the world around them. It had hurt. It was an indescribable pain to see her first crush so obviously in love with somebody else. It nearly crushed her whole.

But she never blamed Ichigo for not noticing her before, or Rukia for taking Ichigo from her. She couldn't blame them for loving each other when it was so painfully obvious that they were happy together. Everybody had noticed the underlying bond the two shared from the moment they met.

No, if she blamed anyone, then she blamed herself. She blamed herself for not having the courage to speak up, for not having the strength to push past her shyness and approach her crush. She promised herself that she would stop being weak; that she would never disappoint herself like this again.

And now, just as she believed that she had found her chance to prove to herself that she was not weak anymore, she was shown that there was an almost insurmountable gap between her and the kind of foes that Ichigo would have to face. It was enough to nearly kill her already weakened resolve.

But if there was anything Orihime Inoue could pride herself on, it was her iron will. Her soul expressed itself in her powers to reject reality and substitute her own. As such, she would reject her weakness and replace it with strength. She did not falter when her brother died, she did not falter when all the kids at school picked on her before she met Tatsuki, she did not falter when she saw her brother end his afterlife and she would not falter now. That was who the Orihime beneath the klutzy, cheerful girl truly was. A woman who did not know the meaning of giving up.

"Come on, Sado-kun." She called, a fierce determination burning in her eyes. "If those who took Kuchiki-san come after Kurosaki-kun when he rescues her, we have to be ready."

The gentle giant only nodded, his sentiments identical. Without a word, the ends of the extension on his shoulder split, burning brightly with blue reiatsu.

"El Directo!"

* * *

"Do you think Onii-chan will be alright?" Yuzu asked her sister as she kicked the football back towards her somewhat clumsily.

The two were playing in the park on the outer edges of Karakura, close to the cemetery. It was a tradition for the two, since they didn't go out together often during the school year, that they spend their time outside with each other as much as possible during the summer break.

"Of course he'll be alright, it's Ichi-nii we're talking about!" Karin dismissed, receiving the ball with trained expertise before guiding it smoothly towards the younger of the two. "Besides, it's because of Rukia-nee that he's going. You know that he would cross from Hell and back twice and that nothing would be able to stop him if it meant rescuing her."

"Yeah," Yuzu agreed with a smile. "Ichi-nii is like that. Especially with Rukia-nee."

It was a bit over a month ago that the two sisters had met Ichigo's girlfriend. Of course, this was the Kurosaki family, nothing was ever as normal as it sounded. Their first meeting with Rukia had been when she was nursing their wounds and protecting them from the Hollow that attacked them on the anniversary of their mother's death while Ichigo fought it off.

At one point, when the Hollow was slowly starting to lose ground, it had turned its attention to the three helpless girls. What truly brought the three so close was the fact that when the Hollow shot a barrage of spears of hair at them, the powerless Shinigami threw herself in front of the sisters without a second thought. However, Ichigo was faster than her and had ended up being the one to take the assault for them.

What happened next was the reason why neither sister was overly worried about Ichigo's mission to rescue Rukia. Even though at one point, the Hollow had revealed that he was the one who killed their mother, the fury it had invoked then was nothing compared to the fury that burned within Ichigo when it had attempted to kill his love and sisters. It had been scary, it had been bloody and it had been brutal. If not for the fact that they lived in a clinic, the two would have long since emptied their stomachs. The only thing that saved the Hollow from death were the injuries Ichigo received protecting them, otherwise Grand Fisher would not have been able to get away.

If anything, the two could only pity those who took Rukia-nee for their foolishness.

"Have you noticed that Dad has been acting strangely?" Karin asked after a few more passes. "I mean, he's a bit more serious than he is usually. If I didn't know better, I'd say he's worried about something."

"Well, Onii-chan _is_ going to a dangerous place..." Yuzu trailed off. "I mean, it's not like the fights he usually gets into."

"I guess you're right." Karin said with a sigh. "Must be my imagination."

The twins continued lazily kicking the ball back and forth in the pleasant summer afternoon in silence, enjoying the solitude their obscure playground provided. It wasn't long before the two decided to begin their trek home so that they could return in time for lunch.

"Did you hear that?" Karin asked as she chipped the ball so that it would fly into her waiting hands, tucking it under her arm.

"Hear what?" Yuzu asked she picked up the bottle of water the two brought with themselves.

"I swear I could hear a..." She trailed off, not wanting to continue that sentence in case she was wrong. The sound came again, only much clearer and much louder than before.

"Crap!" Karin said as she grabbed her sister's arm and ran. "A Hollow's coming!"

A third roar, this one close enough for them to feel the vibrations of the unearthly shriek. Karin chanced a look over her shoulder. Her eyes widened as she saw a grotesque caricature of a two story tall monkey charging at them from behind, its long strides allowing it catch up quickly to its meal.

Acting purely on instinct, she shoved her sister to the right and then dove forward just as a massive foot slammed down where they had been a moment ago. Quickly getting up, she looked up at the Hollow only to see that it wasn't interested in her. Instead, it was slowly approaching a dazed...

"Yuzu!"

She needed to distract the Hollow and fast! Without a second thought, she threw her football in front of her and kicked it as hard as she could. Her aim true, the ball hit the monkey-like Hollow on the side of the head with enough force to make it falter in its step. The sneering bone mask turned to face her as the angered Hollow started charging at her.

She froze up, her fear paralyzing her now that she realized just what she had done. She could only look on as the monstrosity approached and raised a sharp claw, ready to carve her.

"_Duck."_

And she did at the very last second. The blow whooshed millimeters above her head, shortening a few unlucky locks of her hair.

"_Roll to the left."_

She threw herself to the side and rolled to get up, rising nimbly to her feet just as a fist larger than her whole body slammed into the ground beside her. She took a few steps back to gain some distance.

"_Why are you backing away?"_

Why was she backing away? To get away from that thing of course! She needed to get it away from Yuzu! Remembering her sister's troubles, she looked around to search for her, but found her nowhere in sight. Terror gripped her heart as she looked behind her. Yuzu was lying behind her, nursing a scraped knee and looking at the Hollow that was slowly approaching with wide eyes.

"_Shit, I rolled straight towards her while I was getting away from the bastard!"_

There was nothing she could do now. Yuzu was right behind her and there was no way they could outrun the massive Hollow. She cursed her weakness under her breath. Why the hell did it have to come on a day that Ichi-nii wasn't there to help them!

"_You don't need to rely upon the strength of others to protect yourself." _That odd voice spoke again. _"All you have to do is call out my name."_

"_Your name?"_ Karin finally thought back to the voice. _"Who are you? What are you doing in my head?"_

"_I have been with you from the moment you were born, Karin."_ The voice replied, now gaining a deep, resonating quality. _"I have watched you grow and mature. I have see__n your every hardship, calling out to you each and every time in hopes that you would finally hear my voice. And now you do._

_There is no time for questions. The Hollow is seconds away from killing you and your sister! Choose! Either take my power and use it to protect yourself or remain as you are and forever be reliant upon those around you to protect you!"_

"_Give me your power! I don't want to be weak, I don't care about the consequences! I'd do anything, just let me save Yuzu!"_

"_You have chosen well." _The voice replied, now much more clear to her. _"__Abandon your fear. Look forward. Move forward and never stop. You'll age if you pull back. You'll die if you hesitate._ _Now call out my name and gain your strength! My name is-"_

"ZANGETSU!"

* * *

"Seems like more things are poppin' out that ain't accordin' to ya plan, Aizen-taicho." Gin took note with that ever-present grin of his. If Gin had his eyes open, one would be able to see devilish amusement dancing in them. It was so fun to see the traitorous genius annoyed!

"So it would seem, Gin." Aizen agreed calmly. He eyed the screens in the Daireishokairō's main observation room with a cold indifference. The hub of all Shinigami knowledge was truly marvelous. It contained all the information he had hoped for and more, such as the central observation system that linked all the sensors the Shinigami had ever placed in the World of the Living or Soul Society. It was this very system that allowed him to know so much about his pawns.

However, Aizen wasn't in the mood to bask in the greatness of the Daireishokairō this time. The very same pawns he had kept such a close eye on had went against all of his carefully laid down plans and acted on their own accord. First, the ryoka boy had miraculously risen from his wounds with both a Hollow mask and a Zanpakutō. Then he disappeared for seventeen days only to appear in Seireitei with all of his failed test subjects, Kisuke Urahara, Yoruichi Shihōin, Tessai Tsukabishi and one of the last Quincy in what could only be described as the start of a war.

And now a second Kurosaki rose up to give him grief. He rewound the footage and played it again.

_Just as the Hollow was about to crush the spiritually aware twins, a massive sword that would be better described as an oversized cleaver appeared in the older sister's hand._

"_ZANGETSU!"_

Aizen lost sight of the scene because of the massive wave of blue reiatsu that issued forth from the tomboy's swing.

_When the reiatsu cleared, there was nothing of the Hollow to be seen. The eldest Kurosaki sister was panting, her sword stabbed in the ground in front of her to give her support while the younger sister tried to comprehend the events that just took place._

_Eventually, the raven haired girl's grip slipped from the clothed tang and she started falling. Before she could hit the ground, a large Mexican teen, one that Aizen recognized as Sado Yasutora, caught her in his arms._

Aizen stopped the recording just as another one of Kurosaki's friends, Orihime Inoue, rushed over to comfort the other sister.

"I will need time to formulate a new plan." Aizen said after a few moments of silence. "You should go now. My Lieutenant should be stumbling upon my body soon. After all, I'm very sure that you would like to watch."

Ichimaru's smile widened. "A'ight. Ja ne, Aizen-taicho!"

As Gin shunpoed from the Daireishokairō, he felt like rubbing his hands together in childish glee. First Aizen gets pissed off, and now he gets to see how Aizen's mangled body will look like when he finally takes his revenge! What a wonderful day this was turning out to be for him!

* * *

A piercing, agonized scream rang out throughout the Seireitei, making all of the Shinigami within earshot freeze and turn towards the source...

Except for a mismatching pair that was headed for the Senzaikyū.

"Hey, that one sounded just like Love when he stumbled upon Shinji in the shower a few days ago!" Ichigo exclaimed, giving his companion a wide grin. "I hope that Shinji hasn't started using his nudity as a weapon. That would definitely be grounds for an all-out war against us, Aizen or not."

Hiyori looked to the side as they ran, refusing to face her least favorite Vizard. She pressed her lips together, trying to push what Ichigo had just said out of her mind. Slowly, the image of a naked Shinji streaking random Shinigami and making them shriek for their mothers started forming in her head. She let out a brief chuckle, her face already red with restrained mirth. She lasted a few more seconds before she lost the battle with herself and started laughing hysterically.

"Okay, okay..." Hiyori said finally after a minute, gasping for breath. "You win. You're not _that_ much of a snot nosed brat, but you're still a brat, got it?"

"Whatever you say, midget." Ichigo replied, ruffling up her hair as he shot past her. "We both know you like me too much to give me the cold shoulder!"

"Like _you_!?" Hiyori shouted in outrage, upping her pace to catch up to him. "I'll show you just how much I like you! _**Cero!**_"

* * *

Byakuya Kuchiki sat in front of the shrine he had built for his deceased wife, sipping tea calmly as he gazed at the picture that stood in the center. He didn't bother removing his Shihakushō and haori, he would be leaving soon enough.

The past two weeks had been trying for the noble. Rukia's trial and pending execution had thrown a lot on his shoulders.

Contrary to popular belief, Byakuya was nowhere near apathetic towards his adopted sister. He may carry himself with an air of indifference, but he was only human. How could he possibly remain idle when Rukia, the younger sister of the love of his life, all that he had left of Hisana, was condemned to an outrageous sentence for a justified breach of conduct?

It was at times like these that Byakuya Kuchiki questioned the collective sanity and intellect of the Gotei 13. It was true, the word of Central 46 was law. However, anyone who has dealt with Central 46 more than once would see that this decision was not something that fit into its character. Though they had panicked during the incident that was blamed upon Urahara Kisuke, understandable seeing as to how many powerful warriors the Gotei 13 lost that day, the main governing body of the Seireitei never made unreasonable motions, otherwise the Sōtaicho would not have allowed them to continue with their existence.

The clan head knew that any form of direct political assault would not yield favorable results. Decades of experience taught him that when an issue as delicate as this was concerned, only subtle pushes and unconventional methods worked. After all, one had to possess a silver tongue, sharp wit and no small amount of political genius to marry a simple Rukongai commoner without turning all of Seireitei onto its head when they had a social standing as prestigious as his.

It was with this in mind that Byakuya utilized every possible trick he had in his book to overturn the situation into his favor. He spent whole days in the underground meeting assembly of Central 46, wasting hours on end in subtle word games and carefully phrased sentences.

When he saw that no amount of official persuasion would work and as time grew shorter and shorter, Byakuya grew more bold.

It was technically illegal for anyone to know the identities of the members of the Central 46. However, every skilled politician knew that the official rules were never the ones to apply in the real world. Byakuya happened to be acquainted with three of influential members, two of which were in his debt because of certain favors he had done them in the past.

But even that turned out to be a dead end. None of the members were present in their homes and their servants told him that they hadn't returned from the underground chambers for at least a month.

Now that struck yet another chord of suspicion within Byakuya's mind. It wasn't really uncommon for members to remain underground for longer periods of time. They were well equipped to live within the Central 46 compound for as long as needed. However, there were no great decisions to be made and there hadn't been for a few years already. Even Rukia's execution was decided upon in a matter of hours.

So why was everyone he knew absent for such a long time? For exactly the same amount no less.

Even more disturbing than that was that his repertoire of backroom politics was now exhausted. With the mysterious disappearance of the three Central 46 members, there was simply nothing else he could do. Politically speaking.

"It seems that I have come to an impasse, my beloved." Byakuya spoke to the wind, taking a sip of his tea. "I have done everything I could to circumvent the promise I have made to my parents. I am now forced to choose. Do I forsake the law that I have sworn to uphold, or do I sacrifice my family for it? What would you-"

He stopped. Slowly, he set the cup down and looked at the ground, his lips curling upward slightly into a bitter smile.

"How woefully... stupid of me to ask." Byakuya said as he rose, not lifting his gaze. "Have I truly forsaken myself so much after your passing that I have to ask you such a question?"

He looked at the picture of his wife, his gray eyes turning to steel. "I have realized my shame, Hisana. I know what I must do. I can only hope that you will find it in yourself to forgive me my grievances in the next life."

The Kuchiki turned with a billow of his haori, Senbonzakura strapped firmly to his waist and his mind set. The war had started, the battles awaited him...

And he had a wayward subordinate to track down.


	4. Chapter 3

_Author's Notes_: Wow... I won't lie, I thought the story would receive some good publicity the moment I started writing it, but even now I'm blown away by the feedback. 52 reviews in three chapters is something else. I really thank all those who reviewed or offered their help for some ideas in the story. And of course, _**Aletheya**_ goes without saying.**  
**

Here's something I'm pretty sure most of you have been dying to see. It's pretty much the only fight in here. I wanted to write everything chronologically, but in the end I dedicated most of the chapter to Ichigo's fight. I know I'll be getting reviews and PMs after this one, so let me say this:

Don't judge Ichigo's power level until the end of this Seireitei War arc. I leave a huge amount of misleading information in my chapters, which is fully intentional, so don't worry about anyone being overpowered just yet. As you've probably caught on by now, I like to leave questions in one chapter and answers in the next.

I won't bore you anymore, enjoy the story! The following is a response to Dark Kyuubi who reviewed anonymously:

_Dark Kyuubi_: Thank you again for the praise. I'm glad that my way of writing appeals to you. I write stories the way I like to read them, so I guess we share a taste. Once again, thanks for the review. Enjoy the new chapter!

_Another Note_: I'm not sure if I'll keep the updates weekly from now on. I'll be a bit busy, but then again, I have been busy the last few weeks too yet I managed to write everything on time. Just notifying in advance in case I don't post on time. Have a good read!

* * *

**Chapter 3**

_**The Seireitei War**_

"You didn't have to hit me that hard, you know." Ichigo said as he nursed his cheek. It bore a red mark that looked suspiciously like the bottom of a sandal.

"What was that, Strawberry? Want another one?" Hiyori asked, glaring up at her orange haired companion.

After many a fired and avoided Cero, the two had reached an open area just in front of the stairway that led up to the Senzaikyū. Not one to miss a good opportunity for vengeance, the moment Ichigo had stopped, Hiyori grabbed her sandal and smacked the unsuspecting Visored across the face.

Ichigo might be fast enough to dodge her Ceros from pointblank range, but not even the Gods themselves escaped the wrath of Hiyori's sandal.

"So, why did we stop? We're just a few minutes away from your what's-her-face girlfriend." Hiyori said, pointing to the stone steps.

"Yeah, that's what's bothering me." Ichigo said, crossing his arms and slowly walking towards the stairway. "I mean, we got here already without seeing so much as one Shinigami around. So, either we're having an unbelievably good stroke of luck, or..."

"Or there's somebody waiting for us up there." Hiyori finished, realizing the point. "Then what do we do?"

"The only thing we can do." Ichigo said, grabbing Saigetsu's hilt and letting the bandages slither off the blade. "We spring the trap."

"Here's the plan," He turned to her. "You surpress your spiritual pressure as much as possible and make your way up there. I'll flare my own reiatsu and keep whoever is guarding this area occupied."

"Whoa, hold on! You have no idea who might be up there!" Hiyori warned. "What if there's more than one Taicho waiting for you?"

"Hey, give me some credit here, midget!" Ichigo retorted. "You could have some faith in me once in a while. After all, I'm entrusting Rukia's safety to you. I'm counting on you."

"Last time someone counted on me, I ended up with an inner Hollow." Hiyori grumbled under her breath. "Alright, Strawberry, we'll do it as you say. You better hope this ends well, otherwise I'll be coming back straight down to give you another sandal smacking, is that clear?"

Ichigo smiled wanly. "Perfectly."

"Good." Hiyori huffed. "Don't get too roughed up."

With that, the blonde started running up the stairs, her reiatsu barely there to Ichigo's senses.

"_Ready, Saigetsu?"_ Ichigo asked his partner.

"_Always. Show them your power."_ His Zanpakutō responded, an undertone of pride in his voice.

Kenpachi's head rose as he felt a great spiritual pressure weigh down upon him. Whoever this guy was, he was strong, really strong! And he was issuing a challenge as well, there was no mistaking the clear message the reiatsu provided. It was almost begging for a fight, and Kenpachi was never one to pass up on a good battle.

"This one feels like he's going to be loads of fun, Ken-chan!" Yachiru chirped from her perch on his shoulder.

"That he does." Kenpachi agreed, dashing off the edge of one of the massive, bleak buildings at the base of the Senzaikyū. "Let's go meet him, then!"

Ichigo's head snapped up at the rapidly falling blur. He reversed his grip on his sword and swung in a wide arc. Time seemed to freeze as the two fighters caught sight of each other, one sporting a manic grin, the other a confident smirk.

The ground beneath Ichigo's feet shattered when the two swords met with a resounding boom. He kept up his guard, his reversed grip allowing him to rest the blunt side of the blade against his elbow for support while the bloodthirsty Captain tried to overpower him.

"Heh, so you have the bite to back your bark after all." The crazed Taicho grinned. "Kenpachi Zaraki, Captain of the Eleventh Division."

Ichigo shoved the man off with a jerk of his arm, dropping into a stance. "Ichigo Kurosaki," he smirked cheekily. "High school student."

"Wow, Ichi-chan has a cool sword!"

Ichigo nearly died on the spot. His eyes snapped down to see a small, pink haired girl poking the flat side of his sword with her finger.

"_How the hell did she get here!? _When_ did she get here!? How the hell did I not sense her!? Is she the Sōtaicho or something!?"_

"I think you scared Ichi-chan, Ken-chan." Yachiru said, putting a finger to her bottom lip and looking up at the teen.

"Stupid, it's you who scared him." Kenpachi replied gruffly, shouldering his Zanpakutō.

"You're the stupid one! Ichi-chan's not afraid of me!" Yachiru argued before whirling on Ichigo suddenly. "Right, Ichi-chan?"

Ichigo took a step back and gulped. "Y-Yeah, right..."

"See!" She smiled victoriously.

Kenpachi sent an amused look to Ichigo, grinning. "Yeah, I see pretty clearly."

Ichigo's eyes narrowed, his reiatsu rising subtly in warning. The other man seemed only more amused because of it, raising his reiatsu to match Ichigo's. They locked gazes, raising their reiatsu in tandem in a silent contest. It began forming a visible aura around them, one a bright gold, the other a dark blue. The buildings that formed the edge of the vast clearing started creaking under the immense force of the combined reiatsu, the tiles cracking and-

"Onward, Ichi-chan!"

Ichigo didn't dare breathe.

"Come on, you're just standing there, it's so boring! Onward! Fight!"

Yachiru punctuated her requests by pulling on his hair, acting as if his locks were the reins to a horse. She set herself comfortably on his shoulders, her legs dangling from either side of his neck.

"She's got a point." Kenpachi agreed, dashing forward. "Let's fight!"

"Wait, wait!" Ichigo panicked, jumping away from the overhead strike. "She's your subordinate, at least wait till she's at a safe distance!"

"Bad Ichi-chan!" Yachiru yelled, yanking his hair. "Fight, fight, fight!"

"What the hell is wrong with you, chibi!?" Ichigo yelled, trying to turn his head to look at the Fukutaicho. His efforts were rewarded by another painful yank. "Ow! Get off already, you'll get hurt!"

"Yachiru can take care of herself." Kenpachi said, slashing without pause. "Now stop being such a wuss and fight!"

Ichigo groaned in frustration and went in for an overhead strike of his own. Kenpachi simply raised his sword above his head to block. Saigetsu rebounded back up off the nameless blade, leaving the Visored completely open. Kenpachi made no stop and thrust his Zanpakutō forward. Ichigo smirked.

With the back of his free hand, Ichigo batted the worn sword away, leaving the Captain defenseless in turn. Kenpachi's visible eye widened as he realized his predicament, but it was too late. Ichigo brought down Saigetsu in another overhead slash, this one connecting. He jumped back, not pressing his advantage.

"Yatta! We made a hit!" Yachiru cheered.

"We?" Ichigo questioned, his eyes turning upwards in a vain effort to look at her. "You're not even on my side. Why are you cheering for me?"

"Because it gets boring if Ken-chan wins every fight!" Yachiru whined. "Ken-chan needs someone who can beat him so that he can grow even stronger and have even more fun!"

Meanwhile, Kenpachi looked down at the deep gash that ran from left shoulder to right hip, slowly oozing blood onto the ragged ends of haori. He snorted. A chuckle left his throat a moment after, followed by another and another until he lost himself in a disturbing fit of insane laughter.

"This is what I've been waiting for all these years!" Kenpachi exclaimed, grinning like a madman. "You cut me so effortlessly! Our spiritual pressures are equal in strength! There is no protection, no handicap, just our blades and our own strength! This is perfect!"

"Come, give me the fight I've been looking for!" Kenpachi bellowed and lunged forward. Ichigo parried the slash, trying to counter with his own. The older man, however, recovered from the parry like it hadn't happened and defended against the attack without effort. The two continued swapping blows, neither able to gain the upper hand.

Yachiru miraculously stayed in place throughout the entire ordeal.

"You're strong, Ichigo!" The Eleventh Division Taicho praised as the two locked blades, trying to overpower one another. "Nobody fought me on this level in a long time."

"Thanks." Ichigo replied with a strained smirk. "You're not too bad yourself."

Kenpachi's grin widened at the remark and pushed with more force, but Ichigo's arm didn't budge. The contest of strength continued for a whole minute. Kenpachi glanced down at their hands for a second. His eyes snapped wide open. Slowly, the manic gleam broke through the shock, returning stronger than ever as the battle crazed Shinigami laughed again.

Ichigo noticed his opponent's eyes stray from his for a moment and looked down as well. His jaw fell slightly slack, disbelief clear in his eyes.

"_You've got to be fucking kidding me..."_

Both of them had only one hand on their swords.

"I was hoping I wouldn't have to use this against you, since I've heard how much you dislike anything other than a straight fight, but..." Ichigo's eyes snapped back to Kenpachi's, shining a light blue with both determination and reiatsu. "I'm afraid I don't have the time to play around."

He put his free hand against Saigetsu's blunt edge, the sword glowing with pent up energy.

"Getsuga Tenshō."

* * *

Hitsugaya watched the massive dome form and explode with a blinding flash near the bottom of the Senzaikyū.

"So, it has begun." Hitsugaya muttered, a grim expression on his face. "It seems that the intruders are already at the Senzaikyū. Aizen was right after all."

"Better there than here." Matsumoto said, resting her elbows on the windowsill beside him and putting her chin in her hands. "I wouldn't want to fight whoever could make that attack. He sure is powerful. Wonder if he's handsome..."

"Matsumoto..." Hitsugaya sighed, putting a hand to his face.

"What?" Matsumoto pouted. "It wouldn't hurt if they had some lookers with them. I mean, they don't have to be all bad just because they're invading. Abarai-fukutaicho told me that the human boy – Ichigo, I think – fell in love with Kuchiki and now he's come to save her! Isn't that romantic, Taicho?"

Hitsugaya rolled his eyes. "He's a fool for coming here."

"You've gotta cut the kid some slack." A new voice joined the conversation, making both of them freeze. "After all, he's madly in love. Besides, he's gotten hellishly strong in just a few weeks. I wouldn't call him foolish."

The two turned to see a bowl-cut blonde grinning at them while lounging lazily on Hitsugaya's couch, a newspaper boy's hat twirling idly on his finger and a Zanpakutō lying on the Captain's coffee table.

"Gotta learn how to lock your doors properly, Chibi-taicho."

Matsumoto snickered quietly to herself. Tōshirō bristled at the insult, putting a hand on Hyōrinmaru's hilt and glaring at the intruder.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" He asked tersely.

"Shinji Hirako, former Captain of the Fifth Division." Shinji replied, his grin widening when he saw the white haired Shinigami tense more. "As to what I'm doing here... Well, I'm just enjoying your lovely couch."

"Don't play games with me, why are you here?" Hitsugaya pressed, narrowing his eyes.

"Aw, but I thought kids loved to play games!" Shinji mocked, earning a pulsating vein on the ice wielder's temple. "What's your name, chibi?"

"Tōshirō Hitsugaya, Captain of the Tenth Division." He replied curtly, his tone threatening.

"Nice to meet you, Tōshirō." Shinji said, sitting up and putting his cap down on the table. "And you are, madam?"

"Oh, a gentleman." Matsumoto smiled. "Rangiku Matsumoto, Fukutaicho of-"

"Enough!" Hitsugaya shouted. "What the hell are you doing in my Division?"

"Oh, you know," Shinji gestured vaguely in all directions. "Just stirring up trouble like any good traitor is supposed to."

"So, you're a distraction." Hitsugaya surmised, crossing his arms. "In that case, I'm sorry, but I won't let myself fall for tricks."

"Aw, come on, I came here politely!" Shinji protested, standing up. "Love's probably smashing things up around the Seventh, yet I came directly to you and even introduced myself nicely! You could at least cooperate."

"I won't fight you." Hitsugaya said, glaring at the blonde.

"Hm, we'll see about that..." Shinji said, taking a look around. The room was pretty well furnished, even for a Taicho's standards. Two plush armchairs, a rather comfortable couch as he had just seen for himself, a mahogany coffee table, a few bookshelves, an expensive writing desk with a neat stack of papers and forms and a desk lamp on top, another desk with-

Shinji grinned, a devilish plan forming in his mind.

"Hadō 54, Haien."

Hitsugaya's eyes grew to the size of saucers. He could only watch as a purple orb of spiritual energy hit the large stack of paperwork, reducing it instantly to ash and cinders. That had been a month's worth of paperwork, both his and Matsumoto's (of course, he did her portion too). He had finished the work only last evening. 547 forms written, filled and signed. Now, his days of hard work were being carried by the breeze that came through the open window behind him, scattering all over the room.

His fist clenched tightly as he looked at the ground, his hair shadowing his eyes.

"Oh, look at that." Shinji said in mock surprise. "Your paperwork mysteriously disappeared! Must be a hard blow for you... It looked like a month's worth too..."

"You will pay for that." Hitsugaya said, calmly drawing his Zanpakutō from its sheath. "Sit upon the frozen heavens, Hyōrinmaru!"

* * *

Yoruichi shook her head in amusement from her perch atop a tree, looking directly into the Captain's office of the Second Division. Security these days... You'd think they'd at least change the guards' positions once in a century. It was ridiculously easy to get in, but then again, she _was_ the Goddess of Flash, everywhere was ridiculously easy to get in.

Soifon was in her office, trying to fill out some paperwork, obviously distracted.

"_So, my little Bee heard I was around."_ Yoruichi mused. She felt a pang of regret as she looked at her former student. She hated that she had to leave her so alone, but she knew she had no choice. She refused to let Aizen drag down yet another powerful Shinigami with his ploys. She could only hope Soifon would forgive her.

Taking a deep breath, she shunpoed through the window.

"Hello, Soifon." Yoruichi greeted with a sad smile. She snapped her head to the side to avoid the fist that was about to slam into her nose, jumping away from the roundhouse kick that followed.

"You!" Soifon snarled. "How dare you show your face here!?"

"Well, I did practically live here..." Yoruichi trailed off teasingly. She dodged a series of punches and jumped over a sweeping kick.

"Come on, Soifon!" Yoruichi whined playfully. "Aren't you at least a bit happy to see me?"

"Happy to see you?" Soifon asked coolly, her eyes narrowed. "You abandoned me here over a century ago, leaving me to take care of your duties and fend for myself without so much as a note saying goodbye. Does that seem like a good reason for me to be happy to see you?"

"I didn't have time to do anything, Soifon." Yoruichi defended, a stab of guilt piercing her chest. "I learned of what was happening with Kisuke and Tessai at the last second. I'd have never abandoned you like that willingly."

"Oh, and that's supposed to make me feel _all better_?" Soifon bit sarcastically. Her hand reached for the hilt of her sword. "You come here acting like nothing happened and expect me to bow at your feet now that you've finally deemed me worthy of your presence? Get real. You won't find my forgiveness so easily after what you've put me through."

With that she grasped her wakizashi...

Only to find empty air.

Both women looked at the desk where Soifon had left Suzumebachi. Their eyes met for a split-second before they both dashed towards the Zanpakutō.

* * *

Kyōraku lounged on the roof of his Division's barracks, enjoying the warm breeze provided by the aftershock of the massive explosion and chewing on a blade of grass, his hat tipped over his eyes to defend them against the afternoon sun. He sighed in content, bringing his arms behind his head to find a more comfortable position.

"How long are you going to just lie there instead of doing your job!?"

A foot kicked him in the ribs, sending him rolling down the sloped tiles and onto the ground several stories below. He slammed into hard concrete face first, twitching sporadically.

"Nanaaooo-chaaaan!" Kyōraku groaned, rolling onto his back and lifting the rim of his hat up. "Since when did you become so viole- Lisa-chan?"

Lisa stood on the edge of the roof above, her hands crossed under her chest and her skirt fluttering freely in the wind.

Kyōraku grinned widely, clasping his hands behind his head as he looked up at his former subordinate.

"Look at how beautiful you've grown since the last time I saw you." He said, relishing in the slight blush on her cheeks. "And you still have a great sense of fashion too. Underwear especially."

"I'm not wearing any underwear, pervert." Lisa replied, not bothering to shift her stance.

Kyōraku's grin widened. "Exactly."

Lisa rolled her eyes and stepped off the edge, ignoring the effect her fall had on her skirt and landing in front of the lazy Captain.

"You haven't changed at all from the last time I saw you." She commented flatly.

"I thought my looks went up a notch since then!" Kyōraku whined playfully, indicating to his jaw. "I've grown my stubble! See?"

Kyōraku's pointing hand fell down after a few seconds in a dramatic show of dejection. The two continued to look at one another in a tense silence, another warm breeze flowing through the open barracks grounds.

"I've been trying to find you all this time you know." Shunsui broke the quiet. "You guys did one hell of a job hiding."

"We travelled around the World of the Living." She told him, her tone softening almost imperceptibly. "We were in Karakura with Urahara most of the time though. You could have just asked him."

"You know what Yama-jii would say if he noticed." He countered, knowing that the Sōtaicho _would_ notice if a Taicho – he, especially – went onto an escapade into the World of the Living to search for his former Fukutaicho, who was scheduled for execution and labeled a traitor by Central 46. The reaction wouldn't be pretty.

There was another moment of silence between the two. Slowly, Lisa lowered herself to her knees and prowled until she was directly above the lying Captain.

"And would you go against him if I gave you a good reason to?" She asked, her face hovering over his.

Shunsui grinned up at his lover. "I'd say that it depends on the reason, but I know you've always been quite the negotiator."

Lisa gave a small snort before she closed the distance between them and pressed her lips to his.

* * *

Renji grinned triumphantly in the large cavern within the Sōkyoku hill, sheathing his sealed Zanpakutō. It had been hard, incredibly hard, but he had done it. He had achieved his Bankai. The battle left him tired and a little worse for wear. At one point, the sleeves of his Shihakushō had been cast aside as they were nothing more than torn rags by then while the rest of him sported the occasional cut and was completely covered in dirt.

Speaking of his sleeves, he spotted one on the ground nearby and went to get it to bandage one the nastier cuts on his arm. Just as he was about to reach down for it, a huge boom reverberated through the training area and shook it, making him nearly lose his balance.

"Damn it, the little bastard's fast." Renji muttered, tearing away a strip of cloth and wrapping it around his bicep. "Powerful too. Damn, how did the kid pull that off?"

"Any man who can inspire a group as powerful as his to fight for his cause has to be powerful in his own right."

The voice made the blood freeze in his veins. He turned around slowly, his hand drifting to Zabimaru's hilt.

"T-Taicho?" Renji asked in shock.

"Abarai." The noble stood at the entrance to the training area, regarding him with his usual stoic expression. "An interesting place you have chosen to train your Bankai. It is your Bankai that you have been working on these past months, is it not?"

Renji pressed his lips in a thin line. He was in trouble. Big trouble.

"Your choice of location is rather fitting," Byakuya commented. "Though I take it you do not know of the history behind this underground training area."

"History?" Renji couldn't stop himself from asking.

"This area was built by Kisuke Urahara with the help of Yoruichi Shihōin and Tessai Tsukabishi 150 years ago in secret to serve their purposes. Later, Kisuke Urahara developed a method to achieve his Bankai in three days and did so here. It has not been used since their exile and has remained a secret to this day."

"If it's a secret, then how do you know about it?" Renji asked.

"Yoruichi Shihōin and I were... friends." He settled, though he made it sound like the word was sour on his tongue. "I have been here on a couple of occasions when she dragged me along. It hasn't changed in all this time, however I see that the Kidō that was used to conceal it and protect it has expired."

"This is of no consequence, however." Byakuya continued, giving his Lieutenant a piercing gaze. "Have you or have you not achieved Bankai?"

"Yeah, I got my Bankai." Renji said boldly, stepping forward. "And I'm going to use it to help Ichigo and his team save Rukia from this ridiculous execution, even if it means I have to beat you to do that!"

"Good, then let us go." Byakuya said and turned towards the ladder.

Renji's jaw dropped. No, no, no, he didn't hear that right, no way did he hear that right.

"Wait, wait, wait, what the hell is going on here?!" Renji asked, bewildered. "I thought you said that the law had to be followed, how come you're helping me rescue her now!?"

Byakuya stopped to give his subordinate a look over his shoulder. "Suffice to say that I have realized the error of my ways. From now on, I shall work to undo the damage my failings have made. Do you have any other questions?"

"No, Taicho..." Renji said, even though he was curious. As the saying went; better not look a gift horse in the mouth.

"Then let's stop wasting time here." Byakuya spoke with finality and shunpoed through the hatch.

"Hai!" Renji shunpoed after him, his mind still trying to comprehend what happened in the last few minutes.

"_Ichigo, you're one lucky son of a bitch..."_

* * *

"Ooh, shiny!"

As the blast subsided, Ichigo stood unharmed with Yachiru still perched comfortably on his shoulders, looking intently into the screen of dust and debris his attack had made and waiting for his opponent to reveal himself.

"Not bad." Kenpachi commented, dispelling the dust with a burst of reiatsu. He pushed himself out of the rock base of the Senzaikyū where the attack had embedded him. He flexed his now sleeveless arms, a large portion of the top of his Shihakushō and his haori missing. In the way of wounds, he only sported mild burns across his chest and arms, less than Ichigo had hoped for.

"You're pretty strong, I'll give you that." Kenpachi continued, rolling his neck with a few loud pops. "Hell, if you caught some of the other Captains in that attack, they would've been out cold. I like that fact."

Kenpachi's grin returned, his eyes flashing gold and his reiatsu rising.

"It means that you're strong enough for me to fight without restraint!" Kenpachi exclaimed, his hand inching towards his eye patch. "So what d'ya say? Let's take it to the next level."

Ichigo looked down to his left hand where a bracelet-like device hung around his wrist.

"_Well, it had to come down to this sooner or later."_

"Yachiru, playtime's over." Ichigo said, his tone brooking no argument.

"Aw... Alright, Ichi-chan..." The diminutive Lieutenant sighed resignedly and vanished.

Ichigo's reiatsu rose, making his eyes glow a deep sapphire with raw power. The two powerhouses continued raising their reiatsu, reengaging in a contest of power like before. The structures around them crumbled while the ground became a display of spiderweb cracks, unable to take the crushing force.

Just as their spiritual pressures were about hit their peak, two things happened.

Kenpachi ripped off his eye patch.

And Ichigo's bracelet snapped.

Kenpachi's eyes widened in shock just as the two massive columns of reiatsu pierced the sky, one pure gold and the other a dark blue.

For a moment, every Shinigami and Zanpakutō in Soul Society paused in disbelief, their attention going to the azure tower of spiritual pressure.

"What kind of reiatsu is that?" Kenpachi asked, his bloodlust muted somewhat by confusion. "You give off an aura of a Shinigami, you reek of a Hollow, but you don't really feel like any of them properly."

"That's because there is no conflict between the natures. I am both, but not either one of them alone." Ichigo explained, bringing Saigetsu up in a guard. "Urahara made me a reiatsu cloaking device so that we could sneak in undetected. It wasn't built to stand this much pressure, but I think he already knew that it would be useless once the fighting started so he didn't bother making a stronger one. It had to be revealed eventually."

"If you're a Hollow too, then show me!" Kenpachi roared, his insane smile widening in anticipation. "Come at me with your full power and let's see who is the strongest!"

Ichigo didn't reply. He brought his hand up to his face and made a ripping motion downwards. His reiatsu surged even higher, Kenpachi's once again rising to match, and gained a more sinister, malevolent aura. A massive Hollow mask appeared in his column of power, roaring in challenge.

"_**Let's end this."**_ Ichigo spoke, his golden eyes trained on Kenpachi's own. _**"One attack."**_

Kenpachi watched as Ichigo's Zanpakutō pulsed a light blue before bursting into blue flames of a Getsuga Tenshō.

Kenpachi brought his own sword up, bathing it in his golden reiatsu. A cackling skull appeared in his aura, grinning back at Ichigo's own avatar of power above them.

At an unspoken signal, the two charged at each other.

* * *

Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto sat in his office, watching through the open, terrace-like section as the two pillars drew closer to each other and exploded in a brilliant flash of gold.

"It seems that the Kenpachi has beaten whatever that thing was." Chōjirō noted, sitting at his own desk some distance away with a neat stack of paperwork in one corner. "I have never felt a reiatsu like that. Do you know what that was, Genryūsai-dono?"

"In all my centuries of experience, I have not." Yamamoto answered, his eyes still gazing into the distance, deep in thought. "But Ryūjin Jakka has."

Sasakibe blinked in surprise. "What do you mean?"

"Your Gonryōmaru is the strongest Lightning element Zanpakutō." Yamamoto said. "You must have heard of some of the other strongest Zanpakutō from him."

"Well, yes..." Sasakibe said, uncertain where this was leading. "There is your Zanpakutō of course, then there is Hyōrinmaru, my Gonryōmaru, Minazuki, the most powerful healing Zanpakutō, then-" Sasakibe's eyes snapped wide open.

"I see that you know about him after all." Yamamoto noted, glancing over his shoulder before returning his gaze to the sky.

"That was Saigetsu? The most powerful Lunar Zanpakutō?" Sasakibe asked incredulously. "The one that has achieved the impossible and unlocked its Hollow powers?"

"Obviously, it is not impossible if he has done it." The Sōtaicho remarked. "What do you know of him?"

"Not much other than what we have already said." Sasakibe admitted. "He is one of the most powerful Zanpakutō and he is also a Hollow being."

"I see." Yamamoto nodded his head slightly. "You said earlier that Captain Zaraki has taken care of his opponent. However, there are two other things that you should know about Saigetsu. The first is that Saigetsu is nearly three thousand years old, only a few centuries younger than my Ryūjin Jakka. In all that time, he has not had a single wielder. This stems both from the fact that a normal Shinigami cannot hope to wield him and that he would deem all of those capable unworthy by his own obscure criteria. That he now has a wielder is beyond significant, made even more important by the second point."

"What is that, Genryūsai-dono?" Sasakibe asked curiously.

The aged Captain turned to look at him with half-open eyes. "The second is the fact that Saigetsu is the only Zanpakutō in existence that has ever beaten Ryūjin Jakka in a Zanpakutō duel."

If Sasakibe hadn't been in his seat, he certainly would have been now. The Sōtaicho was infamous for his prowess as a warrior. The mere sight of Ryūjin Jakka's sealed form inspired terror. The power of Zanka no Tachi was only experienced by the oldest of Captains, but the tales were more than enough. The only being known to be more powerful than the Sōtaicho was the Zanpakutō himself. In that case, if Ryūjin Jakka was bested by Saigetsu...

"If Saigetsu truly is the Zanpakutō of one of the invaders," Yamamoto told his Fukutaicho, "then a brute like Zaraki has no hope of besting him."

* * *

"_**Sorry, Kenpachi."**_

Kenpachi Zaraki stared with wide eyes, uncomprehending. Ichigo was standing beside him, Saigetsu pressed to the Eleventh Squad Taicho's throat.

Kenpachi couldn't believe it. The two had rushed at each other full force, their reiatsus unleashed and raging against all around them and singing with the need to cut. He had brought his sword down upon the teen, it had met resistance before cleaving right through. He knew he had cut through him.

Now, though, he stood there, his sword stabbed deeply into the ground at the beginning of an enormous trench. The remnants of what appeared to be a large, glowing, circular shield of solidified blue reiatsu hovered in front of him, cut cleanly in half just where he remembered he had slashed Ichigo.

But he hadn't even seen him move.

"_No, he didn't move.__ That wasn't movement. It was like he wasn't there."_ Kenpachi corrected himself. _"That's right. He never even came after me to begin with. Fuck..."_

"_**I told you I didn't have the time to fight fairly."**_

Blood erupted from his chest, an X shaped pair of gashes bursting open across his torso.

"Shit..."

Kenpachi fell to the ground.


	5. Chapter 4

_Author's notes_: Back from the dead to give you a chapter of epic length after the long absence of updates!

I'm sorry it took so long. Work and life in general kept piling up on me, but I've finally managed to get a reprieve. Though, ironically, I got it because I sprained my ankle, but beggars can't be choosers I guess.

I'll keep this short since it's late and I really want to upload this now. This chapter is dedicated to my lovely, amazing beta reader **Aletheya** as a late birthday present.

Here are the responses to anonymous reviews:

_Hello_ - Sorry I made you wait so long, but here you have it. Hope you enjoy!

_KING_ - Thanks for the praise! I hope the story will continue to be worthy of it. Sorry for the delay, enjoy the mega chapter!

_Dark Kyuubi_ - Once again, thanks for the wonderful words. It's always a pleasure to read your reviews. I strive to make the characters as believable as possible. Hope I did so again. Sorry for the long wait. Oh, and thanks for the wishes. We don't have thanksgiving here, but I appreciate the sentiment. Even though I missed it by a quarter-year, happy thanksgiving to you as well!

_Guest #1_ - I'm not sure when/if we'll see Yama and Ichigo fighting together or against each other, but I believe the fight I have planned will make up for it.

_Guest #2_ - Sorry, I don't speak Spanish, but from what I gather with Google Translate, I answered your question with this chapter. Sorry for the long wait.

_Guest #3 & #4_ - Thank you both for the kind words. I hope you enjoy this chapter just as much!

That's it. Enjoy the newest chapter!

* * *

**Chapter 4**

_**Song of Death, Part I**_

_Ryūken Ishida sifted through the various forms he brought home from his hospital in the silent hours of the night, checking if each was signed correctly and quickly double-checking the contents. It was a sort of ritual for him by now. It calmed the single parent. Of course, it was definitely not an excuse to use work as a distraction from his own thoughts, which hadn't been so pleasant since _her_ death, for a bit longer. Work was the ultimate distraction, especially when one had such an important job such as his. In his mind, it both helped others and himself, so it wasn't _'a bad habit' _as some pestering Shinigami would put it._

_With a silent sigh, he tapped the bottom of the pile against the table to set it straight and put it away in the top drawer of his desk and reached for the next pile._

_It was definitely not an excuse._

_Before he could reach his pen again, however, a single knock brought his attention to the door before it opened without heed to his response._

"_Uryū."_

_Of course, only his son would dare show so much disrespect to him. Well, him and the insolent Shinigami, the one that dared call him a bad father. Ryūken couldn't help but snort to himself at the thought. Isshin calling him a bad father... The irony couldn't be greater._

_Uryū mentally raised a brow. It was rare to see his father lost in thought. Nonetheless, he was here for a reason, his father's musings could wait._

"_I need training." The bespectacled boy stated simply._

_Ryūken calmly raised his eyes to look upon the boy's. "I believed we had agreed that I wouldn't train you long ago."_

"_Indeed, we had agreed that you wouldn't teach me the techniques of the Ishida clan." Uryū agreed just as calmly. "However, I do not need that. Grandfather took care that I found out about all of them, including the Letzt Stil. That is not what I'm asking of you."_

_Ryūken sat straighter, eying his son with dangerously narrowed eyes. "If that is the case, what could you possibly want?"_

"_You know well what I want, Ryūken." The son responded calmly. "I want the true techniques of the Quincy."_

_Ryūken was fuming on the inside. He didn't know what was worse: that his son knew of the techniques or that he was asking for them. "It seems that your grandfather forgot to mention some things to you." He spoke as he stood up._

"_The Ishida clan was regarded as the most dedicated to the original ideas of the Quincy. These _true_ techniques, as you call them, were strictly forbidden from practice by your grandfather himself. We would not soil ourselves with such practices. Therefore, you will not find what you seek here, and you would do well to forget about seeking it further."_

_Uryū couldn't help the smirk that overtook his lips. "You truly underestimate my knowledge, Ryūken. I know very well the history of the clan. However, I also know what happened behind the scenes. We were hailed as the keepers of knowledge by our kin. No matter what the opinion my grandfather held for these teachings, I know he learned and kept them just as well as he did the traditional ones. Of course, the official stance was that one should not stray from the original way, even if it was inferior to what was developed later, as was expected from our clan, but grandfather would never throw away such knowledge."_

"_I don't see what you hope to achieve here." Ryūken said coldly. "Your grandfather is dead. I don't see what I could possibly do for you."_

"_He named you the Last Quincy." The teen crossed his arms, glaring at his father as if to dare him to deny it. "He taught you absolutely everything he knew in hopes of renewing both the Quincy and our clan. Including his secrets." Ryūken went to interrupt his son, but was stopped by his next words. "Of course, I knew you'd deny it, so I took the liberty of inspecting your armory a bit more thoroughly."_

_The raven haired Ishida procured a small medallion. Before he could say another word, his father was in front of him, the medallion in his hand and his eyes burning with anger._

"_Out."_

_Ishida turned to leave just in time for his father not to see the triumphant smirk._

"_It is heartwarming to know you think so lowly of mom's legacy."_

_And he could practically feel the fire of his father's ire extinguish immediately._

"_What did you say?"_

"_Grandfather hid a letter for me in case you never told me." Uryū said as he turned once again to face the older man. "Her clan was the one that brought such innovations, wasn't it? But she never agreed with the use the others found for it. Instead of a much more reliable self-defense, it became a means of hunting Hollows and destroying their souls, which ultimately lead to our near extinction. It's how Sōken managed to preserve the knowledge of these techniques. She taught him, didn't she?" He paused for a moment. "Or was it her sister that did?"_

_The father let out a sigh of resignation as he, out of character for his usual prim and proper self, sat on the edge of his work desk with a slight slump in his shoulders._

"_That meddlesome, old fool..." He muttered. "Even in death he has to have the final word. Yes, your mother taught your grandfather the Vollstentechnik. She and her sister developed it together. They had the idea of perfecting the Quincy arts to such a degree that even an average user would be hard to take down. Of course, they believed their creation would serve to forever keep the Quincy safe. A naïve thought in my opinion, but back at the time we were all impressed by the breakthroughs, not taking in the larger picture. I guess it's true what they say: everyone is a good general once the battle is over."_

"_And then, in order to preserve the knowledge, grandfather taught you both the Vollstentechnik and our original ways, making you truly the Last Quincy." Uryū stated. "I need this. If for nothing else, then for family, to keep him alive."_

_Ryūken sighed. He lost the fight. Guilt was gnawing at him for alienating his son from his remaining family. The only reason the two teenagers didn't know each other as cousins was because the four parents had agreed to lay low for a decade. After the death of Masaki, who died only two years after her sister, neither Isshin nor Ryūken bothered to have a family reunion. Isshin didn't even tell his children about the spiritual as the agreement was supposed to go._

"You just can't pick the worst parent here." _The doctor remarked to himself bitterly._

"_Very well, I will teach you." Ryūken sighed as he stood and walked towards the door. Uryū wanted to say something, but the older man held up his hand, not pausing in his stride. "I am informed. You have seventeen days. If you want to keep up with Kurosaki, you will need to learn swiftly and relentlessly. There is no room for error. You might even die. Are you prepared to face this challenge?"_

* * *

Uryū gazed upon the complex of the Twelfth Division from his perch on top of a storehouse, waiting for Urahara to unlock the secret passage. He looked down at his hand, encased in a black Sanrei glove with a five pointed Quincy star motif, and clenched it tightly, returning his eyes to the division headquarters.

"I am ready."

* * *

"_**Mashiro Kick!"**_

Hisagi brought up his scythes just in time, but the force of the Vizard's kick still blasted him back and through the wall of his Division's grounds.

"_**Kensei, did you see that, did you, did you, did you!?" **_Mashiro gushed, yelling into the distance to her former Captain who was silently staring at Tōsen on the other half of the courtyard. _**"Aw, you're ignoring me..."**_

"Hadō 33, Shakkahō!"

The red blast shot out of the rubble straight for her, engulfing her entire field of vision. She dropped down into a stance and kicked upwards, sending a crescent wave of green reiatsu at the Hadō spell.

"_**Mashiro Super Cero!"**_

The attacks smashed into each other and exploded in a brilliant flash, canceling each other out. However, Mashiro's eyes widened as she saw Hisagi rush through the smoke a moment later, Kazeshini poised for an overhead strike. Thinking fast, she smashed her raised foot into the ground with as much force as she could.

"_**Mashiro Drop Kick!"**_

Hisagi found himself once again flung into the air as the ground cratered under the overwhelming strength of the young Vizard. He caught himself this time, landing on his feet and skidding back slightly before stopping. He breathed in deeply, feeling winded. He had put in a lot of power into the Shakkahō so that it would be big enough to blind his opponent completely, but it seemed that the girl had no trouble matching and overcoming anything he threw at her.

"What the hell are you?" He almost muttered to himself, but the lively green-head heard him.

"_**Me?"**_ She pointed at herself. _**"I'm Mashiro Kuna, Superhero Vizard!" **_She struck a victory pose.

"Vizard?" The Fukutaichō asked, deciding to use the reprieve to think up a new plan of attack.

"_**Shinigami with Hollow powers, see?"**_ She pointed at the insect-like mask on her face. _**"We've all got our masks, which give us all these cool powers! But there's a time limit too, so we're all like real heroes, like Love says! I'm the superhero because I can hold my mask the longest!"**_

"So, your masks are the centers of your power, just like Hollows." Shūhei surmised, making a mental note. "How did you get those powers?"

Mashiro's face turned sour as she looked in Tōsen's direction. _**"We were infected. And betrayed."**_

"Betrayed?" Hisagi asked, raising a brow.

"_**You see how Kensei and Tōsen are?"**_ Mashiro asked.

"Wait..." Hisagi said, getting a good look at the muscular Visored. His eyes widened as he recognized the face. _"Impossible... It can't be..."_

"_**Kensei was the Taichō of Squad 9 before it happened."**_ She continued, not seeing his reaction. _**"I was his Fukutaichō and Tōsen was the fifth seat. But then we got sent on a mission to help one of our friends and we got infected. Before we could go for help, Tōsen showed up with Ichimaru and Aizen and cut us all down with his Bankai."**_

"Tōsen-taichō... a traitor?" He whispered in disbelief. "But Tōsen-taichō was always hailed as the one who held justice above all else! The most peaceful Captain! How could he..."

Shūhei was breathing in deep, long breaths, his world in chaos. Under any other circumstance, he would never have given even a bit of credence to something like this, but the other man was the one who saved his life back when he was just a small boy. He was the reason why he joined the Shinigami.

Absently, he rubbed the 69 tattoo on his cheek. He owed him at least a chance.

"Can... Can you prove any of this?" Hisagi asked hesitantly.

"_**Well..."**_ Mashiro trailed off before snapping back into her cheerful self._**"I know! Tōsen's gotta say something that will make him sound like the bad guy with how Kensei's looking at him! Come on, we can listen in like detectives!"**_

The girl vanished in a Shunpo, leaving the stunned Fukutaichō to follow.

* * *

Hitsugaya let out a yell as he swung Hyōrinmaru at the infuriating, grinning blonde, a large ice dragon shooting forth from the blade and hitting the former Captain dead on and slamming him into the barracks before exploding in a shower of ice.

"Damn, that one sure got him good!" Came a sing-song voice behind the Tenth Division Taichō. He turned around so fast that a sound like the crack of a whip reverberated through the air. Shinji was grinning at the diminutive prodigy who was glaring at him with eyes wide open with unspeakable rage.

A giggle escaped Matsumoto, who was sitting on top of a wall, watching the fight while holding one hand to her mouth and another to her stomach. Soon another giggle escaped her before she lost it and started laughing uncontrollably, falling to the ground as she did.

Hitsugaya was breathing deeply and quickly through flared nostrils.

"Damn, you really need to take better care of this place." Shinji commented, his grin widening.

The barracks and grounds of the Tenth Division were in absolute ruin. Walls, if they could be even called as such now, were now a conflagration of enormous holes and rubble. Whatever was left standing was thoroughly cracked, looking as if it would crumble at the slightest wind. The offices and rooms of the barracks were in chaos – furniture, papers, books and everything else turned over, tossed around or covered in ice.

And it was all Hitsugaya's fault.

Matsumoto's laughter died down for a second so that she could breathe before she lost herself to an even louder assault of mirth.

"Ban-"

"You sure you want to do that, kiddo?" Shinji teased before pouting. "Hasn't your poow, wittle Division suffered enough?"

Tōshirō snapped, flashing forward in the fastest Shunpo of his life and stabbing the Vizard repeatedly.

"Die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, DIE!" He accentuated the last one with an overhead slash that dissolved the speed clone completely. The crazed Captain roared in despair and anger, falling to his knees.

* * *

"Oh god, don't tell me Shinji's naked again..." Love shuddered at both the unearthly scream that came from Shinji's direction and the carefully suppressed memories in the dankest, darkest recesses of his mind. He would never be the same man after that horrible day.

"Are you the one who caused all this destruction?" A giant of a man with a large helmet covering his entire head, wearing the 7th Division's haori, asked as he shunpoed near Love.

The afro sporting Vizard shouldered his released Tengumaru. "Well, maybe." He shrugged, ignoring the Tengumaru-shaped craters around him.

"I am Sajin Komamura." The man said, grabbing his blade with a gauntleted hand and drawing it. "I will be your opponent."

"Name's Love Aikawa." He returned the gesture. "Now, let's see what you got there. Release your Zanpakutō."

"As you will, ryoka." Komamura calmly raised his Zanpakutō. "Roar, Tenken!"

Love vanished just as an enormous sword slammed into where he stood, held by an equally enormous hand that seemed to have simply materialized in the air. Just as suddenly as it appeared, it faded into nothingness.

"That's quite a Zanpakutō you have there." Love complimented, blocking the follow-up by holding Tengumaru above his head. "Real strong too."

"Thank you for your kind words, but flattery will get you nowhere, ryoka." Komamura swung Tenken in a wide arc.

Love jumped back, the tip of the large blade narrowly missing him. "Yeah, wouldn't expect otherwise."

* * *

"...And all the paperwork you left behind!" Soifon raged, stabbing at her role-model with her released Shikai. "How could you do that to me!?"

"I had to Soifon..." Yoruichi said, sadness lacing her voice as she dodged the attacks without the usual spring to her movements. Her protege was throwing everything she had suffered through, big and small, at her for the last half hour as they fought. It only took a few minutes to completely ruin Yoruichi's mood. She loved her former subordinate like a little sister. She didn't particularly enjoy leaving her behind, and Soifon wasn't helping her feel any better.

"You _had_ to?" Soifon questioned sardonically, launching a roundhouse kick which was dodged before lashing out with a fist to the older woman's stomach. Yoruichi managed to deflect it towards the ground and counter with her own kick, but Soifon shunpoed away in time. "Will you please _enlighten_ me and tell me what was so important that I had to suffer so much?"

"The same reason I'm here now!" Yoruichi snapped angrily, catching the younger woman's foot and glaring right into her eyes. "Aizen! Sōsuke Aizen!"

"Oh, so you're blaming dead Captains now, is that it?" Soifon spat.

She tried to release her foot, but got the shock of her life as Yoruichi released it and gave her the hardest slap she had received in her life. She cradled her burning cheek, tears appearing in the corners of her eyes as she simply stared at Yoruichi. Her visage scared Soifon. She wasn't angry, no, she looked calm on the outside, but her eyes were narrowed into slits that glared at her very soul.

"Get a grip and stop acting like a brat." Yoruichi told her coolly. "Stop acting like you were the only one who lost something. Stop acting like you were the only one hurt. We lost _everything_ but each other. Me, Urahara, Tessai, the Vizard. We left with nothing but the clothes we had on us because of a single man. We left the ones we loved, our homes, our entire lives, because of one man's treachery. And I spared you of that pain. You still had your way of life, your home. We had nothing. I refused to let Aizen take everything away from you as well."

"Yo-Yorui-" Soifon stammered, but Yoruichi continued speaking.

"Aizen was the one who turned the Vizard into what they are now." She continued in the same tone. "Urahara had been working on a project that had similar capabilities to what Aizen was using. That is why they blamed him. The reason he had an alibi is because he lied about his Zanpakutō. It is an illusion type. You may believe him to be dead, but I know for a fact that none of us were even close to the Fifth at the time. We were intentionally staying away. It is merely another one of his ploys so that he may move in the shadows unobstructed."

"Can you prove any of this...?" Soifon asked meekly, intimidated by this new side of her mentor.

"The Vizard wouldn't have followed Urahara here if he were responsible." Yoruichi simply said, nothing changing in her posture.

Soifon nodded her head weakly, accepting the logic. Tears flowed down her cheeks. "Yoruichi-sama, I-"

She was silenced by a hand on her shoulder, Yoruichi's eyes showing sympathy. "It's alright, Little Bee, I understand. Come here." Yoruichi embraced her former student as she cried onto her shoulder, releasing all the decades of pain and solitude that tormented her. She smiled, rubbing soothing circles in the younger woman's back. "I missed you, Little Bee."

* * *

"More tea?"

"No, thank you, Ukitake-dono." Tessai declined politely.

"I'm good for now, Ukitake-san." Hachi spoke when the white-haired Captain turned to him.

The three sat around a coffee table in Ukitake's quarters in the Thirteenth Division, a cup of tea in front of each. The pair had quite respectfully asked an audience with the Captain when they arrived at the Division's headquarters. Sentarō and Kiyone were rather reluctant to let the intimidating pair inside – one being a giant and the other wearing the eccentric robes of the Kidō Corps Taichō – but did so once their Captain ordered them before offering the two exiles tea.

"So, to what do I owe this pleasure, Tsukabishi-san, Hachigen-san, if my memory serves me right." Jūshirō asked amiably. "I believe that there's an invasion going on as we speak."

"Indeed." Tessai nodded. "We are here to explain ourselves and ask for your help."

"My help?" Ukitake blinked. "Does this have anything to do with Rukia's imprisonment?"

"And much more, I'm afraid, Ukitake-san." Hachi said gravely. "We're here to tell you that Soul Society has been betrayed and that your subordinate is right in the middle of this ordeal at this time."

"This wouldn't have anything to do with the Hollowfication experiments Kisuke Urahara was accused of?" The Taichō asked, leaning forward with a serious expression.

"Urahara-san was not the one who caused us our troubles." The Vizard said. "It was a man named Sōsuke Aizen, the Fukutaichō of the Fifth Division at the time."

"But Aizen is dead." Ukitake said, the implied question hanging in the air.

"We didn't kill him, Ukitake-dono." Tessai answered. "In fact, we all agreed to stay away from him. One thing that you should understand about Aizen is that his power is terrible. A hundred years ago, he was able to stop my Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō with a Dankū without effort."

Ukitake's eyes widened considerably. "He was that powerful?"

"It is worse than that." He nodded. "The reason Aizen had an alibi is because he lied about his Zanpakutō's abilities. Kyōka Suigetsu is an illusion type Zanpakutō."

"You mean to tell me that Aizen has been deceiving us for over a century?" Ukitake asked, alarmed. "If that is the case, and you stayed away from him as you said you did, then his death would also be a false one."

"Exactly as you have said it, Ukitake-san." Hachi nodded. "But we're afraid that we have come to the part about your subordinate."

"What about Rukia?" Ukitake asked, worried.

"Urahara-dono has hidden a device similar to the one Aizen used inside Kuchiki-san's soul." Tessai elaborated. "Aizen will use the chaos we have created to his advantage to take the Hōgyoku within Rukia's soul and make his treachery known."

"Do you have any evidence of this?" Ukitake asked. "I believe you, but I need to be certain."

"The only evidence we can provide is that the Visored would not follow a man who cursed them." Hachi spoke. "However, if you require definite proof, we believe that Aizen has killed the Central 46 and masqueraded as them using his illusions. We advise that you go with Kyōraku-san and see for yourselves."

"You have convinced Shunsui already?" Ukitake asked with honest surprise.

Hachigen faked a cough. "Lisa went to him."

"Ah." Ukitake smiled knowingly before remembering something. "Wait, what about Rukia?"

The office-turned-living-quarters brightened immensely for a moment as the earth shook and a warm wind entered through the window, following the aftershock of the Getsuga Tenshō that exploded at the base of the Senzaikyū.

"We have someone on it." Tessai deadpanned, sipping his tea.

* * *

"Damn it, Kurosaki, will you ever learn to control yourself?" Ishida muttered, crawling through the underground passage to the Twelfth Division behind Urahara who was wearing a large, black cloak that hid his reiatsu completely.

"Oh, but Kurosaki-san has learned to control himself rather well, Ishida-san." Urahara quipped over his shoulder. "Now, he merely _chooses_ not to control himself."

Ishida grunted as he rolled his eyes. "Great."

"I believe this is our stop." Urahara spoke as he stopped and silently pushed a tile out of its place above them. "Yes, it is, come now, and move silently."

Ishida had to admit he was awed by the graceful and soundless movements of the man in front of him as he nimbly raised himself out of the tunnel and offered him a helping hand. He took the hand and Urahara hoisted him up before motioning for him to keep quiet. They were hidden behind a pair of test tubes filled with a pinkish liquid that reached from the floor to the incredibly high ceiling. He could vaguely make out shadows of people working on consoles through the tube.

Urahara moved to the edge and took a glance before turning back to Ishida. "When I say 'go', I want you to follow my every step as silently as you possibly can."

Ishida nodded. Urahara glanced back around the corner. They waited a couple of minutes before Urahara said anything.

"Now, go." The blonde whispered and moved out, Ishida following a few steps behind. To his shock, the two moved straight towards the center of the room, the only cover being the occasional portable table. Urahara led him, weaving through tables and behind scientists and closing in on a large door on the other end of the room. He shoved the Quincy back into a console as a scientist walked by before urging him to follow again. The pair entered the room and Urahara entered a code so quick that Ishida barely saw him move his fingers. The doors slid closed with the slightest of hisses.

"We're in the clear for now." Urahara said, turning to the raven-haired teen.

"What was that?" Ishida asked. "The way you move, how you managed to lead us through a room full of people without anyone noticing... How?"

"Before becoming the Captain of the Twelfth Division, I served in the Onmitsukidō under Yoruichi." Kisuke explained, moving towards the other end of the room, where another door lay. "The Onmitsukidō are the Shinigami special forces. The ones with the best training we have, and the most rigorous. We are assassins, trained to fight, subdue, spy and eliminate at any cost. It is a way of life. Once you become a member of the Onmitsukidō, it never leaves you, even if the opposite happens."

Uryū took it in silently, looking at the humble shopkeeper in an entirely new light. Deciding a change of topic was in order, he scanned the room, noting that it shared a theme with the last one. "Why are the rooms and doors so big? The ceiling is incredibly high."

"Better to have more and not need it, then have less and regret it." Urahara said, approaching the console for the door. "Equipment, specimens, some are much larger than others, so we need the space and large enough openings to fit them inside."

He dialed in a combination and got an affirmative sound. "There, that should-"

He was silenced by the sound of blastdoors slamming shut on both ends of the room, followed by the sizzling of a Kidō barrier. The room echoed with the high-pitched whine of a microphone.

"Oh, look what we have here!" Mayuri's voice came over the loudspeakers in the room. "Kisuke Urahara has returned to his former Division. Ah, and he brought me a fine Quincy specimen too!"

"Kurotsuchi..." Ishida growled.

"Ah, I see you have heard of me, Quincy." Mayuri said. "But I'm sorry, I can't chat, I have important tasks to run. If you'd be a good little specimen and just die before I get back, I promise not to mutilate your corpse too much. Nemu, release the gas!"

"Hai!" Came a reply as hidden vents appeared in the walls and released a pinkish gas into the room. The intercom went off with a loud click.

"Urahara, what do we-" But Urahara was already looking for a solution. In an incredible display of agility and acrobatics, Urahara jumped up and kicked off the walls, gaining height before somersaulting towards the ceiling. Ishida noticed the vent in the very center of the ceiling just moments before Urahara pulled the lid off mid-air and caught the edge of the newly made opening. He vaulted inside before calling back.

"You need to get in before the toxin reaches you! Hurry!" The scientist shouted.

Uryū jumped just as the gas licked the floor where his feet had been moment before and formed a reishi platform under his feet, which he moved towards Urahara who once again hoisted him inside. Once Uryū was in the ventilation shaft, Urahara pointed his palm at the hole and muttered a spell under his breath. An orange Kidō barrier formed and sealed the room off completely.

"That should keep the poison from spreading further." The genius said. "We should keep moving. Mayuri won't take long to find us."

* * *

"Sir, they have gone into the ventilation shafts!" Akon reported.

"What!?" Mayuri yelled. "Didn't I tell you simpletons to add magnetic locks to the shafts!?"

"Well, sir, with all the projects you ordered we had an enormous workload." Akon defended, sweating at the look on Mayuri's face. "And since last month's incident, we've been understaffed too, so we had to prioritize."

Mayuri's upper lip was upturned. "Well then, I will have to take care of this myself, it seems. Nemu, come with me. No doubt that Quincy will try and 'avenge his kin'."

"Hai, Mayuri-sama." The Fukutaichō bowed obediently and followed her 'father' deeper into the facility.

* * *

"Ma, this is getting us nowhere, Chibi-Taichō." Shinji sighed.

He was sitting on the white-haired prodigy's back, spinning his hat lazily on his finger while Hitsugaya tried in vain to push him off or reach for his Zanpakutō that was kicked away from his grasp earlier. Matsumoto was watching with devilish amusement as the newcomer mopped the floor with her Captain, one time literally.

"Tell you what, Chibi, I'm getting bored, so I'm going to leave. You won't follow me. Instead, you're gonna go to Kyōraku and ask him about Aizen, alright?" Shinji asked, leaning to the side to look at the younger's face.

"What does this have to do with Aizen?" Tōshirō growled.

Shinji merely smirked and put his cap over the boy's face, blocking his view. "Everything."

When Hitsugaya shook the hat off his face in annoyance, the Vizard was gone. He stood up and dusted himself off, pondering the former Taichō's words.

"Matsumoto." Tōshirō said, bending to get his Zanpakutō and putting it in its sheath.

"Hm?" Matsumoto hummed, sitting on a large boulder that was once a piece of the wall.

"Take care of the Division and make sure everyone is alright while I'm gone." He said. "I don't like this man at all," He paused as Matsumoto giggled again. "but Aizen has always been giving me a bad vibe. If Captain Kyōraku can really tell me something about him, then it is worth checking out. I'll be back soon."

With that, Hitsugaya vanished.

* * *

"That is the furthest thing from a dance I have ever seen." Rose deadpanned. "And I have seen Love's attempts at breakdance. How awful."

"That is what I've been trying to tell him for decades now." Yumichika sighed.

"Oi, both of you, shut it!" Ikkaku shouted with a tick forming above his eye. "This is my lucky dance, okay!? I do it every time before going to battle!"

"A wonder your opponents even had the will to live after seeing that..." Rose shook his head.

"Now you're just being rude!" Ikkaku accused.

"It's true." Yumichika agreed. "I still can't figure out how anybody can take you seriously anymore."

"Oi, whose side are you on!?" The bald third seat yelled.

"Don't blame the poor man for your own lack of taste." Rose chided.

"Okay, that does it!" Ikkaku snapped. "I'm kicking your ass!"

* * *

"Are you going to stand and stare all day, Muguruma?" Tōsen asked, finally breaking the silence between them.

"I was merely asking myself how I let someone like you become part of my division." Kensei replied coolly. "I never thought that your blindness extended as far as your judgment and common sense."

Tōsen scoffed. "How typical that those lesser cannot see the reason of the greater. I align myself only to the path of justice and least bloodshed. One must always look at the bigger picture to be able to execute true justice. If some beings have to be stepped on for it to come to fruition, then so be it."

"Oh, and I take it we are those 'lesser beings' you speak of." Kensei crossed his arms.

Tōsen smirked. "I see what you are doing, Muguruma. Turning my own subordinate against me? Never matter, Aizen-sama's plan will be executed soon enough, so secrecy is no longer needed. You, the Shinigami foolish enough to stand in the way of justice, you will all be crushed, for justice is blind and its judgment absolute. After this great war of blood, there will be no more bloodshed."

"A merciless war to stop all wars?" Kensei asked with a raised brow. "You really are insane."

"Tōsen-taichō!" Hisagi shunpoed near the two, looking at his Captain desperately. Kensei didn't fail to notice the tattoo on his cheek, nor the strange feeling of familiarity he got from the Fukutaichō. "How can you say all this!? How could you do this!? This is not you!"

"And what would you know of me, Hisagi?" Tōsen asked. "I merely follow my own path."

"You follow Aizen's path, only he painted it a different color so that you would take it." Kensei spoke. "You're nothing but his blind lapdog he got only because you're the only one who can't get hit by his illusions."

"You can't do this, Taichō!" Shūhei said in distress before drawing his still released scythes, a determined gleam in his eyes. "I can't let you do it."

"Hadō 33: Sōkatsui." Hisagi had no time to move as the beam of blue reiatsu blasted him away into a wall. Mashiro shunpoed to him, checking his wounds.

"Mashiro, take the kid and leave." Kensei ordered, his tone brooking no argument. "Find Shinji and have him check up on him."

Mashiro nodded. **_"Aye, aye, Kensei!"_ **And with that, she disappeared with Hisagi over her shoulder.

"You dare speak of justice when you strike down your own subordinate like that?" Kensei spat, turning back to Tōsen. "You disgust me."

"As I've said, typical." Tōsen said, drawing his Zanpakutō.

Kensei wordlessly took his Zanpakutō and took his stance.

"Cry, Suzumushi." Tōsen released his Zanpakutō, letting it vibrate with an overwhelming, high-pitched whine.

"Blow it away, Tachikaze!" Kensei let his reiatsu loose, making the area quake under the enormous pressure before lowering it once again, dispelling Suzumushi's effect.

Tōsen hummed thoughtfully. "I should have known better than to expect you would fall so easily."

Kensei shunpoed in front of Tōsen, lashing out with a flurry of punches that the traitorous Captain just barely managed to avoid. Without warning, Kensei's leg came flying into Tōsen's side, making the dark skinned man stagger and leaving him open for a heavy cross that flung him meters back.

"Zanpakutō abilities are a game of reiatsu wrestling, Tōsen." Kensei said as the Captain stood to his feet. "You might have gotten strong enough to become a Captain, but you're still a kid compared to me."

"How arrogant..." Tōsen muttered before flashing into the air. "Let me rid you of your presumptions."

He moved his sword in a semi circle in front of him. "Suzumushi Nishiki, Benihikō."

The blades rained down upon Kensei as Tōsen started falling back to the ground. Before any of the blades could reach their target, they were blasted away by a crimson Cero, Kensei zooming out of the smoke and straight for his airborne opponent. Tōsen brought up Suzumushi just in time to defend himself against powerful swing of Tachikaze's blade, but the force behind the hollowfied Vizard's hit sent him crashing into the ground.

Without missing a beat, Kensei followed him, both hands on his Zanpakutō as a blue orb formed around the knife. He thrust forward, releasing a huge torrent of energy.

_**"****Bakudantsuki!"**_ Kensei's distorted voice boomed as the attack connected.

**"_I thought you were going to rid me of my arrogance, Tōsen."_ **Kensei taunted. **_"Weren't you supposed to _step on lesser creatures_, like me?"_**

Tōsen raised himself, coughing up blood as the last of his hastily conjured Enkōsen shattered, multiple burns marring his exposed body, his clothing in tatters. He clenched his teeth, gripping his blade tightly as he spat bloody phlegm onto the ground and facing his opponent.

"You will suffer for this, Muguruma." Tōsen seethed. "Bankai, Suzumushi Tsuishiki, Enma Kōrogi!"

**"**_**Not this time."** _Kensei said as the darkness enveloped him. _"**Bankai, Tekken Tachikaze!"**_

Tōsen staggered back in shock as his Bankai was torn to shreds by a myriad of invisible wind blades that came with the release of his former Captain's Bankai. Kensei stood poised, his knuckle blades held tightly as the metallic straps around his shoulders billowed in the wind.

**"_Your underhanded tricks,"_ **Kensei spoke, materializing in front of the stunned traitor. _**"Won't work a second time."**_

The grounds of the Ninth Division were engulfed in a massive explosion.

* * *

"_He swings his blade just like that massive arm of his."_ Love jumped out of the way of yet another slash. He had been hoping to simply exhaust his opponent, but the man showed absolutely no signs of slowing down, acting like a true juggernaut. As a result, Love's dodging had led them straight towards a raised courtyard in the vicinity of the Senzaikyū.

"_And whenever I block his attacks, he's the one that actually pushes down. If that's true, then I can..."_

As another overhead swing came at him, he ripped his hand across his face, forming his Oni-like Hollow mask. _**"Let's do this!"**_

Using his newfound strength, he swung Tengumaru straight at Tenken, almost easily deflecting the giant blade and making Komamura stagger back. Without stopping, Love swung around in a full circle, building up momentum, before slamming his kanabō into the dazed Captain, embedding him into a wall.

**"_Damn, that one had to hurt."_**

Komamura managed to shake himself free of the rubble, but as he did, a part of his helmet chipped before the whole weakened piece of armor broke apart, revealing his face to the world.

**"_Oh, is that why you're wearing that helmet?"_ **Love asked, curious.

"Mock me, ryoka, I won't take it against you." The canine Captain said, obviously dismayed.

**"_Mock you?"_ **Love asked, confused.** _"Why the hell would I do that? You look badass, actually. Kind of remind me of a cool manga character."_**

Komamura looked at the Vizard with obvious surprise. "You aren't what I was expecting."

**"_What, did you expect me to throw insults at you?"_ **Love scoffed.** _"Don't tell me my old Division is giving you grief."_**

"They haven't. Barely anyone knows of my true appearance." Komamura admitted.

**"_Now that's stupid."_ **Love said, making the Captain raise his brows. _**"If you ask me, it's a cowardly thing to hide yourself under that helmet and you don't look like a coward to me."**_

Komamura pondered his words before giving a respectful nod. "Yes, perhaps you are right. I will take your words to heart, ryoka. You are an honorable man. I regret that we have to fight."

**"_We don't have to."_ **Love said, grabbing the chance to end this conflict peacefully. _**"We're not here to attack Soul Society."**_

"Then what do you call this, ryoka?" He asked in amusement.

**"_You're one of the newer ones, so I guess I have to explain."_ **Love sighed.** _"We, the Vizard, were all once Taichō or Fukutaichō of the Gotei 13, well, except for our newest member. All of us, except for him, got infected with Hollow powers by three other Shinigami while on a rescue. Their leader framed Kisuke Urahara for that. We're here to expose them."_**

"Are you telling me that we have traitors in our midst, ryoka?" Komamura asked suspiciously. "Who could have been powerful enough to take down so many Shinigami at once."

**"_Sōsuke Aizen, Gin Ichimaru and Kaname Tōsen."_ **Love listed.

"Tōsen?" Komamura asked before narrowing his eyes. "Impossible! Kaname is one of the most loyal Shinigami in the Gotei 13! He would never do such a thing!"

His attention turned to massive dome of light that exploded in a brilliant flash on the Ninth Division grounds. As the flash started fading, so did Tōsen's reiatsu.

"Tōsen!" Komamura bellowed.

**"_Seems like Kensei got him good."_ **Love commented.

"I am sorry, ryoka, but I cannot afford to stay idle any longer." Komamura said. "Bankai, Kokujō Tengen Myō'ō!"

Love raised his head to look at the behemoth dressed as a samurai that stood beside the towering courtyard they were on, one hand gripping the edge of it while the other held the familiar sword raised so high up that it blotted out the sun.

**"_Well, fuck."_**

The blade slammed into the ground, nearly demolishing the tower completely. Love just barely managed to find footing on the very edge of the wall that saved him from a rather long, potentially fatal fall.

**"_Cero!"_**

Komamura raised his other hand to protect himself from the blast, Kokujō Tengen Myō'ō mirroring the action and putting its gauntleted hand in front of its wielder. The Cero managed to push the Captain back slightly, but he swatted the blast away a second later. As the hand moved away, Love noticed the Captain's hand sported a slight burn identical to the one he inflicted on the giant hovering above them. His eyes turned to the Bankai.

**"_Alright, we'll probably get one shot at this, so let's do it right, eh?"_ **Love asked his Zanpakutō.

"_Just don't fry us as well, idiot."_ Tengumaru answered. _"It's your fault if you end up getting us killed."_

**"_Okay then, here we go!"_ **Love said, charging at Komamura.** _"Cero!"_**

This time Komamura swung his blade at the blast. The Cero was deflected and the sword continued towards Love. At the last second, Love jumped and kicked off the broad side of the blade towards the giant samurai. Komamura quickly raised his other hand in an attempt to grab and crush the Vizard, but just as the hand was enclosing around him, Love managed to find footing on one of the fingers and propel himself at the Bankai's head with a quick Shunpo.

**"_All or nothing, Tengumaru!"_ **Love announced as he reared the kanabō back, pouring his power into it. With a roar, he swung it at Tengen, a massive Fireball the size of its head shooting towards its chest. _**"Hifuki no Koduchi!"**_

The fireball hit its mark, making the samurai stagger back a step before it was engulfed in a gargantuan pillar of flames. Vaguely, Love could hear Komamura's scream over the roar of the fire that he was flying straight into. Thinking quickly, he put his kanabō in front of him as a shield against the heat. Just before he was bathed in his own flames, the attack dissipated, leaving the charred Bankai behind. Sighing in relief, Love angled himself to bounce off Tengen's chest.

Just as the Bankai dissolved.

**"_Oh shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!"_ **Love screamed in a rather non-masculine fashion as he started plummeting towards the distant ground below now that he finally lost his momentum.

"Fly, fly, fly!" Love cried out, desperately waving Tengumaru back and forth like a fan in an attempt to slow his fall, his mask crumbling as it finally reached its time limit.

"_Bastard, don't humiliate me like that!"_ The Zanpakutō protested. _"Now that you've killed us off at least give me an honorable death!"_

Just as he gave up on his life and the ground got dangerously close, he felt a pair of arms grab him and carry him away.

"Yo!" He opened his eyes to see a grinning Yoruichi. "Thought you might need some help, so I dropped by."

Love said nothing, just buried his head in her ample chest and held onto her like a lifeline.

* * *

"Looks like things are cooking up." Rose quipped, glancing at the massive vortex of flames in the distance as he parried a slash from Ikkaku.. "It might be messy, but Love can certainly pull some spectacular moves with his Tengumaru."

"I agree, it's rather fascinating to watch." Yumichika commented.

"Oh, for the love of god, get a room already!" Ikkaku fumed as he disengaged and took a step back. "This is getting us nowhere. Let's take this to the next level! Grow, Hōzukimaru!"

Ikkaku brandished his spear, taking a ready stance. "Come on, release your Zanpakutō!"

"You want me to release?" Rose asked in confusion.

"Of course I want you to release, idiot!" Ikkaku snapped. This guy was really grating on his nerves. "I won't fight any opponent with a handicap."

Rose shrugged nonchalantly. "Alright, as you wish. Play, Kinshara!"

"A whip? I wonder how you're gonna use that." Just as he said that, Rose directed the whip at Ikkaku's spear, wrapping it around its middle and pulling back on Kinshara. "Hey, what the hell do you think you're doing!?"

Hōzukimaru broke into three sections, Ikkaku pulling on the ends while Rose pulled on the middle one where Kinshara was wrapped as the two had a game of tug-o-war for Ikkaku's Zanpakutō.

"This has gone on for too long." Rose sighed. "Everyone's already finished. I guess I should wrap this one up too. Sorry, Ikkaku-san. Kinshara Sōkyoku Dai Jūichiban, Izayoi Bara."

Ikkaku had no time to react as the Vizard strummed the whip like a guitar, which in turn started glowing. Once the glow reached the flower-like tip, it exploded with a massive shockwave, snapping Hōzukimaru and flinging him away.

Rose sealed his Zanpakutō back. "Ah, now that that's done-"

"Hey, don't write me off just yet, bastard!" Ikkaku yelled, emerging from the Division headquarters where he managed to land. He was holding the broken pieces of Hōzukimaru in either hand, bringing them together. "Just do me a favor and don't tell anyone about this. I wouldn't like my little secret going out like that. Ban- gurgh!"

"Sorry, I really don't have the time to see your Bankai." Rose apologized, Kinshara levitating in front of him, forming a cross shape with its sheath. Rose played a slow piano tune as the invisible ropes that held and choked Ikkaku tightened gradually until the bald man lost consciousness. As Ikkaku fell, Rose took Kinshara and sheathed it.

"A beautiful melody." Yumichika complimented.

"Thank you."

* * *

"I told you you were still a kid compared to me, Tōsen." Kensei looked down upon the gravely injured Taichō, his mask dissolving.

Tōsen spat from the crater where he was embedded, only his frayed hakama remaining of his clothing, his torso littered with burns and cuts. He raised his hand weakly, muttering. "Hadō 54, Haien."

Kensei sidestepped the spell, raising a brow. "Still have some fight in you?"

His attention was grabbed by the syringe Tōsen procured in the meantime from his hakama. He stabbed it into his chest and let the white fluid flow into his bloodstream.

Kensei stepped back as the traitor's body flashed with reiatsu and readied his knuckle blades. Tōsen slowly raised himself from the ground. The Vizard had trouble keeping his composure as he watched on in disbelief.

"High-Speed... Regeneration?"

Tōsen's wounds were oozing a white, paste-like substance that was quickly sealing them up and removing all traces of injury from his body.

"A temporary solution before Aizen-sama can perfect his project." Tōsen grunted, picking up his Zanpakutō. "I volunteered to be the first to test it."

"It won't change a thing." Kensei said calmly, brandishing his Bankai. "Come, I'll end this once and for all."

"I'm afraid I am not your opponent anymore, Muguruma." Tōsen said, ripping his burnt scarf off and unfolding it into a long, orange cloth. "I am needed elsewhere. Goodbye, Muguruma."

"Oh no you don't!"

But by the time Kensei reached Tōsen, the scarf closed in on him and the spell completed itself, teleporting him away.

"Damn it!" Kensei cursed, stomping the ground and letting his Bankai seal itself back up.

* * *

"God, everybody gets to fight, but I have to get stuck on brat duty!" Hiyori grumbled as she ran towards entrance of the Senzaikyū. "Though Lisa's probably sexing it up with Kyōraku now. Gah..."

"Halt!" One of the two guards at the door yelled and charged at her.

"Out of the way dickhead!" Hiyori kicked her sandal up and snatched it mid-air, slapping the poor Shinigami off the bridge to Rukia's cell. She looked at the other one that was shaking in fear, his back pressed to the door. "What are you waiting for, baka? Scram!"

The guard let out a girlish scream and ran past her. Hiyori smirked to herself. "Dumbasses."

Walking up to the door, she blasted the lock off with a weak Cero she could conjure without her mask and kicked the door open. Inside, she found a raven haired girl dressed in simple white robes and a reiatsu suppressing choker around her neck looking at her.

"You Ichigo's girlfriend?"

Rukia was taken aback by the girl's bluntness. "Well, yes."

Hiyori sized the girl up for a moment before shrugging. "Meh, you're nothing special, let's go."

"Wait, what!?" Rukia asked in outrage. "What the hell was that supposed to mean!?"

"Exactly what I said, baka, are you retarded?" Hiyori asked, glaring back at the raven-head. "I don't see what the orange idiot sees in you, but alright, who am I to judge his taste?"

"Oh, are you jealous?" Rukia taunted with a smirk, her hands on her hips.

Hiyori choked on her spit. "Jealous!? You know what? Fuck you! I'll just leave you here to rot until Strawberry gets to you!"

Rukia scoffed and crossed her arms, her eyebrows raised. The two held each others' gaze until Hiyori finally looked away, mumbling obscenities.

"Argh, just drag your ass over here already!" She ordered and walked away, Rukia jogging up to reach her.

"How's Ichigo?" The moment she asked that question, she had to hold onto Hiyori to keep from falling as an ungodly amount of spiritual pressure slammed down upon them.

"I'd say he's bloody perfect." Hiyori noted, grunting from the exertion as she raised her reiatsu to shield the two of them from the two powerhouses' spiritual pressure.

"This reiatsu... This is Ichigo, but-"

"But he's unlocked his Hollow powers." Hiyori interrupted. "Wait till you get to hear _that_ story."

"I am afraid that won't happen." Came a voice from the other side of the bridge. The pair turned to see Tōsen blocking their path, dressed only in his hakama which had obviously seen a serious fight, though there was no evidence of a battle on his person. "I will be taking Miss Kuchiki from here."

"Oh yeah?" Hiyori asked, standing in front of the petite brunette. "Well, I'd love to see you try."

"As expected. Cry, Su-"

"Howl, Zabimaru!"

Tōsen shunpoed out of the way as a large, whip-like blade slammed into where he stood moments ago, Renji appearing a second later.

"Renji!" Rukia cried out in happiness.

"I believe that Rukia will not be going anywhere with you, Kaname Tōsen." Rukia froze in shock at the familiar voice. She watched with wide eyes as her brother walked past her to stand in front of both her and Hiyori as Renji shunpoed to his side. "You will have to fight me first."

"Byakuya Kuchiki breaking the law?" Tōsen asked in surprise. "How the mighty have fallen..."

"The only one who will fall here is you." Byakuya replied coolly. "Renji, take the girls to safety. I will deal with this."

"Nii-sama..." Rukia whispered, stunned.

"Hai, Taichō!" Renji saluted.

"I believe that Kurosaki just managed to defeat Kenpachi Zaraki." Byakuya noted, glancing at Rukia. "Go to him and let him lead you further."

"Come on, let's go." Renji urged.

"Nii-sama," Rukia said as she passed by her brother, tears in her eyes. "Thank you."

Byakuya watched the trio head off, straight for Tōsen's end of the bridge. It looked as if the traitor was going to let them pass, but moved to point his Zanpakutō at them at the last second. Before he could do anything, however, a swarm of pink petals forced him to move.

"Such lack of honor." Byakuya shook his head as he calmly walked towards his opponent, the petals of Senbonzakura swirling around him. "Allow me to show you what I do to the honorless scum of this world." He pointed his hand at the blind Taichō. "Scatter, Senbonzakura."


End file.
